Times to Remember and Things to Change
by MoonlitxAngel
Summary: Ulrich is getting fed up with being treated like he can't fight by Yumi and Odd on Lyoko. When he finds this new person on Lyoko, and begins to befriend him, he realizes his friends might have different motives than he'd thought.
1. Chapter 1: The New Lyokian

_**The New Lyokian**_

_** A/N: My first Code Lyoko fanfic! X3 I'm hoping that people who have read previous fanfics will read this one and that I'll get some new fans as well. X3 Now, the characters will probably be a little OOC since I've not watched most of the episodes in awhile. I'm changing Ulrich's personality a little in this so that it'll fit with later things to come so, he's closer to Jeremie and Aelita in intellect so it all works. Some OCs of mine will be added in later, or maybe this, chapter(s). I'll put up biographies for the two that I'm planning on when they show up. This is set around the third season. I'm using the French spelling of Jeremie as that is what it is supposed to be and I'm keeping the monsters in English. So, to end my babbling, read and review! X3**_

Ulrich Stern raced toward the Krab. He was getting increasingly irritated with Yumi and Odd because they continually, for almost a month now, defeated monsters for him when he was about to destroy them himself. Now, for example, he was expecting Yumi's fan or a laser arrow to shoot above his head and at the mark on the Krab's head. As if on cue, Yumi's fan cut through the monster and it exploded.

"We're almost to the tower now," Aelita said, ahead of them.

Yumi and Odd followed her while Ulrich sneaked away through the Forest Sector and into a tower.

"Ulrich, why did you leave the others?" Jeremie's voice rang from somewhere above him.

"I just need some time alone, okay?" Ulrich said his eyes closed.

"Alright. I'll tell the others you went off to explore some for me."

Ulrich waited to see if he was going to say anything else and then left the tower hastily. He ran through some of the trees chasing after a boy with black hair that he'd heard following them and talking with someone.

"Odd, it happened again," Yumi stated nonchalantly as they waited for Aelita to leave the tower.

"The thing where your fan flies out of your hands and destroys a monster for no reason?" he asked, looking over at her and then their surroundings. "Have you seen Ulrich?"

"Exactly. And no, I thought he was following us, but when I turned around he was gone."

"He's looking into something for me," Came Jeremie's voice.

Yumi sighed and changed the subject. "Did you ever find out what happened during this attack, Jeremie?"

"No, I haven't anything wrong with anyone thing here or anything on Lyoko, but we can never be too careful so I want the three of you to come back here," Jeremie told them, beginning to de-virtualize them.

Ulrich tackled the boy he'd been following. "Who are you and why were you watching me and my friends?"

"Reasons," the boy replied shrugging. He tugged at his arms to try and free them from Ulrich's grasp to no avail and tried to blow his black hair out of his eyes. "Could you let a guy up? It's not like I have a weapon to attack you with or anything."

"I'm not taking chances. You could work for Xana or something," he said, holding his katana above the boy's head. "What's your name if you won't answer my earlier question?"

"Xane." He replied. "I've been on Lyoko for awhile now. Truthfully, I've been following Aelita mostly. She's been here the longest and I've been pretty bored since she was materialized. So, when I finally saw you guys running toward the activated tower just awhile ago I decided I'd follow and try to get the nerve to talk with all of you."

Ulrich was suspicious, but let him sit up. "So, why didn't you tell me that earlier instead of waiting? Hmm?"

"I've been afraid to approach you guys… I don't have any kind of weapon so I couldn't save myself from being deleted if you attacked me. I thought if I acted like I wasn't afraid you wouldn't hurt me…"

"You don't really seem all the dangerous," Ulrich noted. He looked around a saw a girl with blue hair who quickly fled once he'd seen her. "Do you know who that is?"

Xane looked over and shook his head. "I'm not sure. I've seen her around, following Aelita mostly, but I've never really talked to her."

"Ulrich, do you realize how long you've been in there?" Came Jeremie's voice.

Ulrich put his finger to his lips, looking at Xane, and then replied, "Sorry, I kinda got lost in what I was doing." He stood up and decided to ask, "Hey Jeremie, do you still have the materialization program around on the supercomputer?"

"Of course, why do you want to know?"

"I was just curious because I think I saw other people following me and if they're not with Xana maybe you and I could work on materializing them."

"Oh, I'll show you tomorrow after classes. You need to de-virtualize yourself, though, because it's almost dinnertime."

"Okay, I'll be there in a moment," Ulrich said and then stood up. He looked down at Xane. "I'll contact you later, alright?"

Xane nodded as Ulrich walked off.

"So what were you doing for Jeremie earlier, Ulrich?" Odd asked as they sat eating dinner.

"He was looking around Lyoko for new places to hide. We need to be ready for the next Xana attack," Jeremie told them, not looking up from his food.

"I think you're hiding something," Aelita said, looking straight at Jeremie.

"You'll find out later," Jeremie said as Ulrich got up from the table and left.

Odd gave Jeremie an inquiring glance which he shrugged at.

Ulrich sat under the blankets with Jeremie's laptop on his lap. He turned it on and loaded up the Lyoko stuff. "Hey, can you hear me?" he asked into the microphone.

"Yeah, why are you whispering?" Xane asked him, his face appearing on the screen.

"I'm in my room and I've got a roommate so I have to be quiet. I don't want him to wake up and ask me who I'm talking to," Ulrich replied, leaning against his pillows.

"Oh, well that must not be fun."

"He's a good friend so it's alright."

"Ulrich, that's your name right?"

"Yeah. Is that all you wanted to ask is there more to that question?"

"There's more. I'm curious as to why you were so quick to trust me. I mean, I just told you that I was curious about you guys and you didn't object or anything."

"Well, I'd rather trust people than be completely suspicious of them. I want to trust you and I'm hoping that you'll be able to prove that I can trust you."

"I don't know how I could do that."

Ulrich was silent as he heard Odd snore loudly and move around in bed. "I'll think of something. I might even ask my friend Jeremie about all of this and what he thinks. I'm not telling the others, though. I don't trust them right now."

"I'll listen if you want to tell me what's going on."

Ulrich paused and began to explain all the happenings of the last month. All from Odd and Yumi mysteriously ignoring him to fighting monsters for him and more. Everything that they'd done that had bugged him for awhile now.

"They don't sound like the best of friends."

"They weren't always that way. Just recently is when all this started."

"Ulrich… Whadd're you doin' up this late..?" Odd asked groggily.

Ulrich moved the mouth piece and replied saying, "Just some homework I forgot to do."

"Oh, alright… Get some sleep, though… Give up on it…" Odd said, falling back asleep.

Ulrich waited for him to begin snoring again then said, "Did you say anything? My roommate woke up."

"Yeah. I said that people change or they've been trying to deceive you and they're finally showing their true nature. I'm guessing they've just change or something, but maybe they do have some other motive to being nice to you."

Ulrich yawned and nodded. "Maybe… I'm really not sure, but I think I'm going to stop hanging out with them until I figure it out. Anyway, I've got to get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Xane nodded and the screen went blank.

Ulrich hid the laptop underneath the bed and fell asleep, thinking up reasons for his friends' strange behavior.

_**A/N: The end of the chapter! X3 I got over 1,000 words so I'm content. Anyway, if you like the story or have any kind of comment, please review!**_

_**Preview of the next chapter:**_

_Ulrich glared Jeremie down as the others stared at him disbelievingly._

"_Ulrich, what are you saying?"_

"_I'm finished," he said, walking off._


	2. The Changes of Time

_**The Changes of Time**_

_** A/N: I don't know how many people are going to read this fic, but I'm going to stick with it. X3 Anyway, if you want more explained about Xane, the stuff that I can tell, and that blue haired girl then ask in a review or PM me. X3 Onto the chapter!**_

__"Odd, let's try _not_ to be late for breakfast today," Ulrich told him as Odd rushed to get dress.

"You're the one who forgot to wake me up!" Odd yelled, pulling his shoes on.

"I woke up late, too," Ulrich admitted sheepishly.

"Well, you should've just skipped the homework last night!" Odd said laughing. "Come on! Let's get to breakfast!" He yelled, racing out the door.

Ulrich ran after him and to the lunch room.

"Odd, did you take my laptop again?" Jeremie asked as they sat down with their breakfasts.

"Why do you think I would steal yours? I don't need it for anything anymore," Odd told him, shoveling down his food.

Jeremie looked toward Ulrich.

"Yeah, I took it. Sorry for not asking, but I needed to borrow it and still need to for a few days. Please?" Ulrich said, watching Yumi enter.

Jeremie sighed and nodded. "Just make sure to let us know if there's a tower activated. The scan should just pick it up. It would probably be easier if you brought it along with you in your backpack, but you don't have to."

Ulrich nodded and went to his and Odd's room, leaving his food for Odd to finish. He sat on his bed and looked at the laptop.

"I haven't seen him since breakfast this morning. Do you think something happened to him?" Yumi asked during a recess.

"I don't know. He's been acting strangely since we got back from Lyoko the other day," Odd said.

"Did anything happen?" Jeremie asked.

"Other than him disappearing to do something for you, no," Aelita said.

"Jeremie, could you check and see if there are any viruses? For awhile now Odd's weapons and mine have been attack monsters by themselves," Yumi said, looking at people passing by and seeing Ulrich talking to Sissi.

"Whoa, do you think she took something of his again?" Odd asked, watching his face.

"I'll go find out," Aelita said, walking away from them and toward Ulrich.

"I'll meet you in your room after classes," Aelita heard Ulrich say as he walked off before Aelita got there.

"Sissi, if you took something of his again-" Aelita began.

"Oh, he didn't tell you?" Sissi asked, laughing. "He seems to trust me more than all of you, huh? Well, it's not my place to be telling Ulrich's secrets so I won't. Not unless you give me something."

Aelita rolled her eyes and walked back to Jeremie and the others. "He left before I got there and he told Sissi something he hasn't told us."

Yumi looked surprised, but covered it up. "Jeremie, he doesn't seem to trust Odd and me. Will you talk to him?"

Jeremie nodded. "I wish I was able to reach his mobile, though, so it would be easier to find him."

"Do you really think so, Xane? I really don't believe they'd do that…" Ulrich said into the microphone at his mouth.

"I'm not completely positive, but I think it's what is happening. I'm never able to get close enough to Xana to tell exactly what's going on, but I think they're helping him somehow. I wish I could give you more information…" Xane replied, frowning.

"Well, I could try to find the materialization program and then you could go to Lyoko without worrying about being deleted if you're shot too much…" Ulrich said, his voice trailing off. "I'm might randomly disappear. I think I hear someone coming."

"Try to get the materialization program and I'll be able to help you more, Ulrich. Till then, watch your back and I'll help you as much as I can from here."

"Alright, I'll get there as soon as I can," Ulrich said, shutting the laptop and hiding it and the earpiece under his bed. He picked up his phone and looked at the messages in his inbox.

_From: Jeremie_

_Message: Ulrich, we need to talk. Meet at Factory._

That one had no meaning to Ulrich. He would probably go later, but for now he scrolled up and saw the sign for the voicemail he'd saved. He pushed the button to hear it again.

_Ulrich… I hate calling you this earlier in the morning and telling you this before school… Your mother had a heart attack in her sleep last night… She's in the hospital and I'm hoping to be able to take some time off work and call Mr. Delmas to get you out of school for a few days so we can be at your mother's side… Call me once you're out of school, alright son? Good-bye… I love you…_

Ulrich hit the end button and wiped the silent tears from his eyes. He still couldn't believe it… He'd asked Sissi what she'd done when she lost her mom, but Aelita came over and he couldn't continue. He decided to go to Sissi's room since school was already over.

Jeremie sat in the chair in front of the supercomputer. "Xana's at something again. There's an activated tower in the Forest Region."

"Are we really going to go without Ulrich?" Odd asked seemingly depressed by the news.

Jeremie nodded. "He isn't answering his phone and we really don't have the time to wait and see what happens. It could be anything that he's planning and it won't be good."

Yumi nodded. "We'll talk to Ulrich if he gets here."

"When he gets here, I know he'll come," Aelita told her, walking to the elevator.

"Thanks Sissi… Would you do something for me?" he asked her as he opened the door to leave.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Don't tell anyone you saw me cry, okay?" he said, headed out the door.

"I won't…" she whispered as the door closed.

"Jeremie! We're being over-taken! We can't hold on much longer!" Yumi cried, catching her fans and blocking three lasers aimed toward her and Aelita.

"For every monster we defeat, more show up to take their place!" Odd cried, shooting three laser arrows off and hitting three Krabs. "And here come their replacements…"

"We're surrounded and can't escape!" Aelita cried.

"I doubt the vehicles will be of much help," Jeremie commented, bringing up the number for Ulrich's phone and dialing. "I'm going to try Ulrich again and if that doesn't work I'll devirtualize you and we'll figure something out."

"Alright, but hurry!" Yumi yelled.

"What do you want?" Ulrich asked.

"Can you come to Lyoko? Yumi, Odd, and Aelita really need your help," Jeremie told him. "They're surrounded and can't get free and there's an activated tower."

He heard a sigh and then his voice brightened a little bit and he replied, "I'll be right there."

Ulrich raced for the factory. This was his chance to find Xane and talk with him face-to-face and see if he'd gotten any closer. Not to mention he would be able to try and get Xane materialized. Once he got to the scanner room he yelled up at Jeremie and said he was ready and was virtualized in the middle of the battle.

"Thanks, Einstein!" Odd yelled, attacking more monsters.

"How'd you attract all of them?" Ulrich exclaimed, using his katana to cut through the one in front of him.

"We didn't! They were waiting here to ambush us!" Aelita exclaimed, hiding behind in the middle of the three.

"Great, this is just great," Ulrich muttered. "I'm gonna try something, okay?"

They all nodded and he twisted around quickly and threw Aelita on top of the nearby Krab and followed suit. "I'll get her there!" He pushed Aelita forward, jumping over the multiple different monsters and trying to stay on top of a Krab at all times.

"We're almost there!" Aelita exclaimed in relief as they jumped off the bunch of monsters.

"I'll handle these; you go to the tower and deactivate it!" Ulrich yelled to her as he fought off the multitude of monsters.

Jeremie sighed in relief as the tower was deactivated and the monsters left all of the others alone.

"You guys, there's something that I've been meaning to ask," Ulrich told them as Aelita came out of the tower."

"We have something to ask you first," Yumi said, standing in front of him.

"I refuse to be interrogated," he stated firmly. "What is this? Are you all turning against me or something? Gathering around me like I'm a criminal?"

"Ulrich, that's not it," Odd said, the usual joking air gone from his voice.

"Then what, hmm? Are you going to start berating me about why I was talking to Sissi?" Ulrich asked, his hand on his katana.

"Ulrich, what's up with you? You ditched school today, you're up all night, you've been acting like we're threatening you, and you were talking to Sissi about something that you could tell _us!_ You're supposed best friends!" Odd yelled out and then covered his mouth.

"What, I can't talk to Sissi once in awhile? I know it sounds weird coming from me, but she's a good support system for me right now. I'll tell you later what it's about, but I'd rather not talk about it right now. And what's with all of you? I mean, you didn't even come to my room to check and see what was up. Did you think of that?" Ulrich yelled running away from them and into the forest.

"Jeremie, devirtualize us," Yumi said.

Once devirtualized they watched Jeremie's computer screen and followed Ulrich into a clearing they didn't think had been there before. He stopped for about thirty minutes and was devirtualized.

Ulrich knew he couldn't stand to be around them anymore. One, they were going to start getting suspicious of him. Two, they may not even be the ones doing the right thing. Third, and last, they were watching him likes hawks and he didn't like that.

"Ulrich, what were you doing?" Jeremie asked, turning around in his chair.

"So now you're all watching me on Lyoko as well as here?" Ulrich asked, glaring at them. "Friends don't stalk their friends, understand? I don't know what you all are up to, but I'm going to put an end to it if it's the last thing I do. I know how to work the supercomputer myself, even better than Jeremie in some areas now. I can do things on my own."

Ulrich glared Jeremie down as the others stared at him disbelievingly.

"Ulrich, what're you saying?" Odd asked, an expression of worry crossing his face.

"I'm finished," he said simply and walked into the elevator and left.

_**A/N: One of my longest chapters for any story! X3 I'm happy. X3 Anyway, thanks Alice the Wind Alchemist for reviewing! I'm hoping this story will showcase my best writing. X3**_

_**Preview of the Next Chapter:**_

"_**Ulrich, Xana isn't the one activating all of the towers you're fighting against. It's Jeremie," Xane said, from the computer screen.**_

_**Ulrich sat flabbergasted. He couldn't believe what Xane was saying. "He wants to kill us…? Yumi? Odd? Aelita?**_

_**Xane nodded as the screen went blank.**_


	3. Xane's Truth

_**Xane's Truth**_

_** A/N: Hehehe, you'll find that I'll update fast. Thanks to those who have reviewed! In the next chapter I'll thank everyone here by listing them and answering things they ask in their review or just by stating thanks! This time you got a review reply. X3 Anyway, I'll get to the story since I have nothing else to say. X3**_

Ulrich sat on his bed looking at the computer screen. He hadn't turned it on yet and hoped that Jeremie, Odd, Yumi, or Aelita would come through the door at any moment asking him what was wrong. That's how he would know if what Xane said was the truth. He didn't want to believe it, but it almost had to be true with the looks on his former-friends faces. "C'mon… Prove him wrong… We've been doing good, right…?"

"Ulrich, they're not coming. They know you've figured them out. I'm sorry you had to find out this way…" Xane said, his face appearing on the screen.

Ulrich nodded. "I am, too… I hate to think of them being the ones doing the wrong thing here… I don't know what to think anymore… Xane, I don't know what to do… My mom is in the hospital and I can't get the words out to anyone else because it all starts to become too real that way…"

"I might not actually be a person, so I guess talking to me is alright?" Xane asked, his face brightening a bit.

Ulrich let out a small laugh and nodded. "Yeah. You pretty much hit the nail on the head." Ulrich sighed as he heard Odd approaching. "I'll be right back."

Ulrich stuffed Jeremie's laptop under his covers as Odd entered.

"What you pulled back there wasn't cool, Ulrich. We're all genuinely worried about you and you go off and abandon us. What's up with you, huh? I'll listen, promise," Odd said, closing the door.

Ulrich stared at the creases in the covers on his bed and frowned. _Should I tell him?_

"Ulrich, we're all really worried about you… Yumi especially… She was almost in tears when you left. I would've gotten here sooner, but Jeremie told me that we should give you time to cool off… I didn't want to believe it, Ulrich… You're leaving us for real?" Odd asked in a worried tone.

"Odd… Just leave me alone, okay?" Ulrich said, his voice cracking as the tears threatened to fall.

"Just remember, we're all here for you if you want to talk… We can work stuff out, Ulrich…" Odd said, the hope evident in his voice.

"I don't think so, Odd," Ulrich said as he grabbed his covers up close to him. "I'm tired of everything to do with Xana and hanging out with you guys feels like an obligation to go to Lyoko and save you every time something bad happens. I don't want to obligation of being on-call for every incident there. I can't stand that. I can't stand that someone is trying to take my mom from me. I can't stand that I'm being watched by all of you. I can't stand any of it anymore," he said, hiding his face so Odd couldn't see the tears coming from his eyes.

"What happened to your mom, buddy?" he asked.

"She had a heart attack, Odd… She's in the hospital…"

Odd was shocked. "Ulrich… I'm so sorry…"

"Odd, are you coming?" Jeremie asked, opening the door.

"No, I'm going to stay here and hang out with Ulrich. You guys can do the scan by yourselves," he replied, sitting on Ulrich's bed.

Jeremie shrugged and left.

"What's he doing?" Ulrich asked, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And if you tell anyone you saw that-" Ulrich started.

"Saw what?" Odd replied winking. "And he's doing a scan of Lyoko because he thinks that some virtual beings are following all of us and trying to manipulate us."

Ulrich's eyes popped and he jumped from his bed. "Odd, don't you dare tell Jeremie that I left this room."

Jeremie returned to his room to find Aelita and Yumi waiting. "Odd's not coming because he wanted to stay with Ulrich. He looked pretty upset."

"Well, after what he did he should feel upset. He over-reacted," Aelita said, crossing her arms.

"It could have something to do with why he was talking to Sissi earlier," Yumi said, frowning.

"Let's head to the factory so we can do the scan," Jeremie said.

Ulrich tore through the sewers and to the factory. He jumped into the supercomputer's chair and began typing furiously. "Xane, I'm at the factory. Get into a way tower, quick! They're going to do a scan of Lyoko and they're going to find you and probably catch you. I don't know what else."

Xane's face appeared on the screen. "Ulrich, Xana isn't the one activating all of the towers you're fighting against. It's Jeremie,"

Ulrich sat flabbergasted. He couldn't believe what Xane was saying. "He wants to kill us…? Yumi? Odd? Aelita?"

Xane nodded as the screen went blank.

"What are you doing, Ulrich?" Jeremie asked angrily.

"I'm trying to save someone," he said, kicking an emergency switch that turned on the supercomputer again. He realized that Jeremie unplugged it somehow. He glared at Jeremie.

"I want answers, Ulrich, now. What're you doing?" Jeremie asked.

Yumi and Aelita glared at him.

"Trying to save Aelita, Odd, and Yumi," Ulrich replied, glaring Jeremie down. "I know your secret and you're not going to stop me, Jeremie. If I have to die trying then I will." He turned to the computer once again and started putting in the cord with his feet.

"What are you talking about, Ulrich? We're your friends, not your enemies!" Jeremie yelled.

"Yumi, Aelita, and Odd are my friends. Not you, Jeremie. You were never our friend. Not even when all this started," Ulrich said, getting the computer on.

"What are you talking about? Who put these ideas in your head?" Aelita yelled. She was clearly afraid for him.

"Ulrich, what's happened to you…?" Yumi asked, tears in her eyes.

"Nothing, but if you keep hanging around Jeremie you'll soon find yourselves or your families dead by his hands," Ulrich stated, hitting the button to materialize Xane.

Xane stared into the light of the scanner room and closed his eyes. The lighting was different in this world and it hurt his eyes. This was the second time he'd been here and he'd make sure he won this time. "Ulrich! Are you up there?" Xane called.

"Yeah, and hurry up!" came the reply.

Xane raced for the ladder and climbed it, standing by Ulrich's side when he got up there. He glared at Jeremie. "I've heard your plans."

"What are you talking about?" Jeremie exclaimed, flailing his arms in the air. "I've never tried to hurt any of my friends!"

"Then why don't you trust them enough not to stalk them?" Ulrich yelled as he typed on the computer, per Xane's instructions.

"Ulrich, calm down and we can all discuss this…" Yumi said, stepping to Jeremie's side.

"No! If he can't reach us he's going to go after our parents and I refuse to let him continue killing my mom!" Ulrich yelled.

"I haven't done anything to your mom, Ulrich!" Jeremie yelled, exasperatedly.

Ulrich hopped out of the chair and glared at Jeremie. "I don't wanna hear it. I'm not going to listen to anything else that you say."

Xane smiled.

"Ulrich, this is insane," Aelita said with a worried expression.

"You're insane for following him! He'll make sure that Franz is killed before you so much as get to say one word to him!" Ulrich yelled, grabbing Xane's arm and racing from the factory. He refused to mention what he'd done to the supercomputer. He felt no emotional ties to Jeremie or Aelita. Odd might still come to his and Xane's side and… He refused to give up hope on Yumi. He couldn't do it.

_**A/N: Thanks soooooooooooo much to everyone who has reviewed! X3 I'm glad that I have people reviewing that aren't friends or people who have previously reviewed my other stories. X3 Well, it's chapter 3 people and it's beginning to get even more interesting, hmm?**_

_**Preview of next chapter:::::**_

_Odd frowned at Ulrich. "Do you really believe that, Ulrich, or is it Xane trying to get you to believe exactly what he wants?"_

_Ulrich thought for a moment. "I know that what he's saying is that truth. Why would one of Xana's people send him to break us up when he's already got the upper-hand?"_

"_Think about it. He wants to keep the upper-hand. And what better way to do that then taking away our strongest fighter?"_

_Ulrich looked at the door at which Xane was behind. Could it be true? He thought to himself._


	4. A Question for the Future

_**Question for the Future**_

_** A/N: Fourth chapter, people! Are you ready? This chapter title doesn't give away as much as the other titles have so I hope you're in for a few surprises up my sleeves. (Note: I can be a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge spaz sometimes. Read some of my A/N's on other stories and you'll understand.) Hey Zadie Rose, I know you're probably reading this right now. Think I should start handing out cookies again? XD Anyway, here's all the people that reviewed chapters 1, 2, & 3:**_

**Kilo'E'Powers : **_I plan on going a bit slower. In the beginning Xane was supposed to be materialized by Jeremie in the first chapter, but I changed it a bit. XD There's still a lot left to this so I do plan on going slower (now that most of the important rushed parts are out.) And yes, I'm a girl. Lol. I don't use the ABC button. I catch it after I type stuff wrong. I'm not a Nazi with grammar, but I makes me mad when I mess stuff up so I re-read my stories._

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_Thanks! ^^ I'm glad that I've got people reading that really like this story._

**lyokodreamer: **_I think the Author's Note in the first chapter explained, but I changed characters around a bit to fit into the story better. He's a bit better with computer than he was in the show and he also had Xane's help. Xane knows __a lot__ about computers and Lyoko. You'll see in later chapters._

**Onyx415: **_I'm hoping to. I don't know all the time if I'll be able to update daily or every other day because I want to slow everything down a bit and go into a bit more detail now. ^^_

_** Onto the story!**_

Ulrich brought Xane to his and Odd's room. "Odd, this is Xane. Don't listen to Jeremie, Yumi, and Aelita when they talk to him or about him. They're making judgments without even knowing him."

Odd nodded. "I'll talk to them tomorrow about it. For now, we all should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow is a day off so maybe all of us could talk?"

Ulrich shook his head. "I'm going to see my mom in the hospital tomorrow with my dad. Keep me posted, though, okay?"

Odd nodded as they went to sleep.

- (If you haven't noticed already, I use these when I'm switching between characters being followed. :3)

In Lyoko a girl who looked much like Aelita, but covered in blue. He hair was a light blue, almost like ice. She was running toward a tower and smiled. "Good work, Xane… We're almost there… It has only just begun, though…"

Three Krabs surrounded her and gave her guard as she entered a hidden area of Lyoko.

Ulrich held his covers tighter around his body as a cold shiver crept into his limbs. He could tell something was wrong. Something big had happened and it wasn't right.

"Ulrich, get dressed. I wanna talk to you in the hallway," Odd said, sitting up and watching Xane's body rise and fall as he breathed in his sleep.

"That's creepy, what you're doing right now, Odd," Ulrich said as he pulled his clothes on.

Odd shrugged and led Ulrich outside. "What's your problem with Jeremie and Aelita?"

"Jeremie's trying to destroy us, Odd. He's the one activating the towers and everything," he replied, frowning and rubbing his hands against his arms. He couldn't shake the cold feeling that he'd had when he woke up. It was beginning to frighten him.

Odd frowned at Ulrich. "Do you really believe that, Ulrich, or is it Xane trying to get you to believe exactly what he wants?"

Ulrich thought for a moment. "I know that what he's saying is that truth. Who would send Xane to break up and why? If it were Xane, why break us up when he already has the upper hand?"

"Think about it. He wants to keep the upper-hand. And what better way to do that then taking away our strongest fighter?"

Ulrich looked at the door at which Xane was behind. _Could it be true?_ He thought to himself. "I don't know, Odd. All I know is that recently Xane is the only person really listening to me or taking an interest in me without me having to let off a huge sigh."

"You go hang with your parents and we'll talk more when you get back, okay? We'll get this figured out… If Jeremie really is targeting us then we can figure out some counterattack like the team we are," Odd smiled.

Ulrich nodded and walked down the hall. _Odd, you and Xane are the only ones that I can trust right now…_

Odd walked back into the room and frowned as Xane got up. "Listen, I don't know what you're trying to pull on Ulrich, but if you hurt him in any way Yumi and I will make sure you get it back ten times harder, got it?" Odd asked, glaring at him. "You won't make me trust you that easy."

Xane nodded. "I don't expect you to… What I'm saying probably sounds crazy to you."

"You got that right," Odd replied, frowning. "You got Ulrich to believe you after only a little while talking to him. I don't trust anyone that can do that."

Xane looked down at his pillow, closing his eyes tight. He still wasn't used to the air and lights in this world. "Well, how can I start?"

Odd raised his eyebrow at Xane and grabbed some clothes from his closet. "What do you mean?"

"How do I start gaining your trust?"

"You'll need to try and figure that out by yourself, Xane. Not everything is handed to you on a platter."

They sat in silence as they both got dressed. Odd promised himself that he wasn't going to let Xane out of his sight today. He didn't want him getting into anything of anyone else's that he could use against them in case he was with Xana.

Ulrich frowned. His aunt had come to get him because his dad was with his mom, but as she'd said it she'd gotten a sad look to her eyes that Ulrich didn't like. It almost confirmed his feeling that something was wrong.

"Ulrich, I want you to listen to me well. I know your parents have always been hard on you, but do remember that no matter what they love you, alright?" she asked him, her long black hair swishing as she moved her head from the road to him.

Ulrich caught the tears at the edges of her eyes. "I know they do…" he replied, wishing that she didn't have anything else to say. He didn't want to talk right now.

"And for now, listen to what your dad tells you. He has your best interest in mind and doesn't want anything bad to happen to you. Everything he does from this point on is going to be with you kept in his mind," she whispered the last part as she tried, and failed, to keep the tears from silently rolling down her cheeks.

"I know…" he said, knowing that bad news was going to be coming to him quickly.

Jeremie frowned as he stared at the page in front of him. "Aelita, I don't know how to word this letter."

"There's not much that can be said if Ulrich has made up his mind that you're evil. We just need to stick with what we have and keep hoping he'll come to his senses," Aelita told him, tapping her pencil on the edges of the notebook she was writing in. Jeremie, Yumi, and Aelita had all decided to write Ulrich a letter explaining what they thought in hopes he'd listen to it.

"How's yours coming along?" Jeremie asked, swiveling around in his chair and looking at her.

"Well enough… I really hate to think of any of this, but it seems viable… It could be true, but it could be a lie… I don't believe Xane for now. I'd never seen him on Lyoko and he never tried to explain that to me or even to Ulrich it seems."

"Aelita, if it came down to it, do you think you, Yumi, and Odd would really be able to fight against him? I don't mean if you're actually strong enough to beat him. I mean-"

"If we'd be able to mentally fight him, right? I'm not sure… I know Yumi and Odd would have a lot of problems with it, but I haven't really talked with all of you much. Even though I'm here."

"I know what you mean."

Ulrich couldn't move. His body refused to accept the truth of the words his father had just spoken. The cold chill from this morning had turned itself into a monster, raging inside him and making his entire body seem to shut down. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. All he could do was stand there in cold disbelief as his father sat down crying and his aunt comforted him. His aunt refused to tell him in the car and he finally understood why.

"Ulrich, I know this is coming as a shock to you… Please, try to be strong for your father…" his aunt had begged him after she'd told him the news. His mom was dead. Xane had warned him about Jeremie activating towers and what the symbol would look like if he did something in the real world. It was a copy of Xana's symbol, but in blue. After interrogating some nurses he'd found that from the printer a single sheet of paper printed out. No one told it to print, but out came the symbol Xane had described just minutes before his mom had died.

_**A/N: Well, I think that's a decent cliff-hanger. Don't hate anything in the story just yet, though. You'll see what comes to pass in the next chapter. XD Though, things relating around Ulrich's mom and her death will come later.**_

_**Preview of the next chapter:**_

_Ulrich did the only thing he could think to do and ran to catch up with Yumi. "Yumi, please listen to me… I don't want to lose you, too… Give Xane a chance and look into what he's talking about. I know it may sound insane, but how can we know for sure if he's not doing what Xane says he is?"_

"_We have to trust him, Ulrich," Yumi stated and walked off._

_Odd followed the girl through a tunnel in the forest region and was amazed._

"_Welcome," she said waving her hands at the glimmering trees around her and the oasis in the middle of the area, "to my home. I created this area. Come, follow me and I'll show you." She ran through the clearing and into more trees._

_Odd followed, wondering who this girl was and what she wanted._


	5. Times of Strife

_**Times of Strife**_

_** A/N: Well, this is chapter five! Yay! Anyway, thanks to everyone that has reviewed thus far and to everyone that reviewed this chapter! Only two this time. XD**_

**Kilo'E'Powers-**_I'm the same way when I'm reading stories, though with my end I tend to get excited and go waaaaaaay too fast. XD Anyway, I'm definitely going to be slowing it down from now on so that I'm leaving room for more chapters. X3_

**lyokodreamer-**_Thanks! I'm glad that you like the chapter that much!_

_**Onto the story!**_

The weekend had come and gone and Ulrich was back at school. He was barely able to move at his mother's funeral that weekend; his father had to push him forward from his mom's unmoving face.)

"Sissi, how did you get through your mom's death?" Ulrich asked her that morning before breakfast.

"It just gradually got better. My dad and I were really depressed when she died, but life moved on and we refused to be left in the dust. Stay busy for awhile and eventually you'll be able to think of your mom and not cry," she replied wishing he was talking to her under better circumstances and feeling sorry for him.

"Thanks, Sissi… Have you seen Xane today?" he asked her looking around. He wanted to try and keep his mind off his mother's passing and trying to stop Jeremie was the best way.

Sissi shrugged her shoulders. "He hasn't been here all weekend. I saw him talking to Odd and then Odd disappeared somewhere and I haven't seen either of them since."

Ulrich sighed, discouraged. "Thanks anyway," he said walking away. He leaned against one of the beams holding the arches outside up and looked up at the sky. He wished for things to stop being so complicated. It was tearing him apart at the seams. He could feel it. Something was going on inside him. It was bubbling and boiling. He felt as if one or two more things were added then he would lose it and end up insane.

"Ulrich, we need to talk," came Yumi's voice from behind him.

Ulrich turned around and frowned. He knew she would rip into him about all the stuff with Jeremie. "I don't feel like talking right now."

"Too bad. Something needs to be done about all this and I'm not going to sit by and watch you be destroyed by someone that we barely even know. How can you trust someone like that?" Yumi asked, holding his wrist so he couldn't leave.

"Yumi, it's just that he makes it all sound logical and it's going to sound insane, but what he described would happen eventually has happened. You knew my mom was in the hospital earlier, right?" Ulrich said, swallowing hard so as to keep the tears from forming in his eyes. He was already getting choked up.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"She died Friday. I was talking to the nurses around the hospital that were taking care of my mom and one of them said that they found Xana's sign in the printer, but it was blue. Not the normal red. Xane told me that Jeremie's would be green or blue. He wasn't sure."

Yumi shook her head in disbelief and walked away. She couldn't believe what Ulrich was saying.

Ulrich did the only thing he could think to do and ran to catch up with Yumi. "Yumi, please listen to me… I don't want to lose you, too… Give Xane a chance and look into what he's talking about. I know it may sound insane, but how can we know for sure if he's not doing what Xane says he is?"

"We have to trust him, Ulrich," Yumi stated and walked off.

Odd followed a girl through a tunnel in the forest region and was amazed.

"Welcome," she said waving her hands at the glimmering trees around her and the oasis in the middle of the area, "to my home. I created this area. Come, follow me and I'll show you." She ran through the clearing and into more trees.

Odd followed, wondering who this girl was and what she wanted.

She led him through multiple different passageways that eventually ended up with them in the mountain region. "Odd Della Robbia, prepare yourself to fight."

Odd stood bewildered as the girl waved her hands and three monsters he had never seen before appeared before him and crawled toward him.

The girl nodded to the monsters and they sat down in a line in front of her. "The object of this is to get to the other side of these monsters. Don't ask questions. The supercomputer is set so if you are destroyed you won't come back."

Odd's eyes popped open as the monsters began working on devirtualizing him. "Who are you?" He asked her as he attempted to fight the monsters.

"Crystal… Crystal Hopper," she replied, a smirk on her face. (A/N: She wants it known who she is, but I'm not sure if they knew at this point that Aelita's last name was really Shaeffer and not Hopper so I'm using Hopper. If someone tells me otherwise, or I find out otherwise, I'll change it.)

Ulrich frowned as he tried to understand the words travelling to his ears. His brain refused to take in the information and let go of it.

"Ulrich Stern," the teacher said, calling his name to answer a question.

His mind wandered to the times his mom had called out his name during vacations when he was in trouble for something. He remembered the first time his dad had yelled at him for his schoolwork. It felt like everything over the weekend hadn't transpired as he let his mind wander to all the times his mom had been there for him.

"Ulrich Stern," the teacher repeated impatiently.

Ulrich snapped out of his thoughts and apologized. "I wasn't paying attention… Sorry…"

"You don't pay much attention to the teacher anyway," Jeremie said, the anger he'd been holding back for the past few days coming out. It had begun on Friday. He felt the anger welling up inside him. He knew that Ulrich was the cause of it. How could Ulrich believe some guy he'd met a day ago, back then it was a day anyway, over him? Something fishy was going on and he needed to find out what.

"Why don't you shut up, Jeremie?" Ulrich asked as the anger that was boiling inside him was beginning to bubble over.

Jeremie stood up and glared at Ulrich. "Make me, Stern."

"Gladly," Ulrich said as he jumped over the desk, pinning Jeremie to the floor.

Kids crowded around the two so that the teacher couldn't get through to stop them.

Ulrich let all the anger that had been building up inside him out on Jeremie. Over the next five minutes he punched him in ever place that he could get, with the limited space he could really only reach his chest, arms, and face.

"Stern and Belpois, stop this right now," Mr. Delmas's voice boomed out over the crowd.

Ulrich didn't stop. He refused to let Jeremie get away with killing his mom.

Odd panted. He'd finally reached the other side of the monsters and stared up at Crystal. "What… What did you say before?"

"My name," she began, doing a flip backwards and landing a top a stone, "is Crystal Hopper. You don't listen very well, do you?"

"I do, I'm just surprised. I didn't know Franz Hopper had another child," Odd replied, keeping his distance in case she tried something.

Crystal's mouth opened and closed repeatedly in surprise. "You… Do you know my sister? Is she alright? Where is she? Will you take me to her?"

"How do I know I can trust you?" Odd asked. This was getting more and more suspicious…

"Ulrich, you've never been one to do something like this. Why now?" Mr. Delmas asked him, leaning forward on his desk.

Ulrich couldn't tell Mr. Delmas the truth, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I know a member of your family died this past weekend, but that is no reason to beat up on Jeremie. It isn't his fault."

Ulrich shook his head. "You'd never understand, Mr. Delmas. I don't even understand most of it myself, but I do know that Jeremie got what was coming to him."

"You know that isn't the truth, Mr. Stern. What could he have done that could have hurt you so bad as to beat him up that badly?"

Ulrich frowned.

Xane raced through Lyoko. "Damn Crystal, why'd you bring him here? We're not ready!" he yelled to no one in particular.

Crystal appeared in front of him. "I sent him home for now. He's going to bring me there. From there you and I can use Ulrich to strengthen your father and then we can get my father out."

"Was that really the agreement my father made with you?" Xane asked as a chuckle escaped.

"Yes. What's so funny?" she asked, scowling.

"Ulrich is going to head my father's army to destroy those stupid Lyoko warriors and Lyoko itself. Once that's done my father will be able to get out of this stupid place and destroy their world, too! You and your father and sister will be at his command!" he yelled, grinning evilly.

Crystal's mouth dropped. "You're lying!"

Xane shook his head and laughed. "Don't worry though, dear, once you're materialized you won't remember a thing."

___**A/N: A decent ending in my opinion. I guess you could call that a cliff-hanger. XD Anyway, can anyone guess who Xane's dad is? Anyway, next chapter will probably be posted around the same time tomorrow. X3 Oh, and I've already figured out that this story is going to have different parts. This is, of course, part one.**_

_**~~MoonlitxAngel~~**_

_**Preview of the next chapter:**_

_Ulrich stood there after Xane finished. His brain wouldn't process the information that he'd just been told. "But…" his mind switched gears. "What are you going to do to Jeremie?" he yelled, pulling his katana from its sheath and getting ready to lunge._

"_I won't relinquish that information just yet…" Xane told him holding his hand up, palm facing toward Ulrich._

_Ulrich's mind went blank. His limbs went numb. He felt a strange presence in his mind as he lost all control of his limbs._


	6. Gaining It Back

_**Gaining It Back**_

_**A/N: Y'know people, the obvious is almost never the answer with anything I ask. XD Then again, I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on where Xane could come from other than Xana. The draft of this story, he was meant to be created by Xana for the purpose of Xana's rise to power. Though, when I began typing, it changed. I'm not sure who yet created him. I'm not going to share what I'm thinking, though. XD Also, the preview may be a chapter or two away from now on. I got a different idea. Anyway, onto those who reviewed! :**_

**Onyxpelt415: **_Thanks! Constructive criticism is also welcome, though. X3_

**lyokodreamer: **_Thanks! Same as what I said to Onyxpelt415, though. Constructive criticism is welcome. X3 Just as long as you're not flaming. XD_

**Kilo'E'Prowers: **_Actually, Hopper was Anthea's (or is it Antea..? P: ) maiden name. Franz's name was Waldo Franz Schaeffer. Thanks for the idea. I might do something different with it and put the name of who is being followed so it's cleared because I've noticed it can get a bit confusing. And I'm planning on three parts and hopefully each part will be more than ten chapters. At least ten, I think. Though, Part Two is going to be pretty long._

_** Enough of my talking, hmm? XD Onto the story!**_

Ulrich shuffled his feet on the floor of the principal's office. "All I can tell you is that Jeremie is the reason my mom is dead."

Mr. Delmas was about to open his mouth as an explosion was heard from the corridors. The entire room shook. "Stay here."

Ulrich watched as Mr. Delmas left and then stood to stretch his legs.

"Ulrich, how could you do that to Jeremie?" Odd asked from the doorway.

"Are you the one that made the explosion?" Ulrich asked, pointing behind Odd as to confirm the fact he was talking about the one out the door.

Odd shrugged. "Maybe I did and maybe I didn't. Anyway, how could you do that to Jeremie? Do you know how bad a shape he's in?"

Ulrich hung his head. He hadn't even thought of that. He may think that Jeremie is doing this stuff, but they were right. He had no proof except for a picture that printed. That could have been printed by anyone that had access to the supercomputer. "No… Odd, I'm sorry… I should've been more careful around Xane… I should've thought things through… I didn't, though, and now I've let it end up like this…"

"You better be sorry. The doctors are saying that Jeremie might not even make it out alive, Ulrich. Yumi is furious with you and Aelita is telling us to shut off Xana and make sure that Jeremie stays alive. They're really upset. I'm trying to keep a good face for both of them. You'd better get it through your head right now, Ulrich. If this keeps up or Jeremie dies, you'll be the one paying. I'll make sure of it," Odd told him. He shook his head and then left the room.

-Yumi-

She was storming through the school, angrier than she had ever been in her life. She wanted to go see Jeremie, but Odd had told her he was in critical condition and no one except for family was allowed to see him.

"Yumi?" Sissi asked, stepping in front of her.

"What do you want?" Yumi asked, the venom dripping from her voice.

"I was just wondering how Jeremie is… I was in class when everything happened… Granted, I wasn't really paying attention, but I'm still worried…" Sissi said in a whisper.

"Are you worried about Jeremie or are you more worried about how much damage Ulrich can do when he's angry?"

Sissi thought about it for a moment then replied, "Both."

"Jeremie's in critical condition right now. His family is waiting to see if Jeremie dies or not to press charges. I think if Jeremie will be okay they'll want his decision to be what they do."

"Oh… Well, I hope he'll be alright," she told Yumi and then ran off.

-Aelita-

She paced around Jeremie's room thinking. She couldn't believe that Ulrich would really do such a thing of his own accord. She'd checked the super-scan and no activated towers were picked up. She sat on Jeremie's bed, her head in her hands.

"Aelita, did you come up with anything?" Odd asked entering the room and closing the door.

"Many theories that aren't possible. Unless Xana has created a way to do things in this world without activating a tower I'm lost."

"What about a virus?"

"He'd need to keep a tower activated to make the virus keep hold."

"And if Xane's the virus?"

Aelita looked up perplexed. "Odd, you're a genius! That could just be it!"

"I know, I know." He grinned.

"Now to test out your theory… We'll need to get Xane and Ulrich to the factory to scan them both. Odd, can you do that?"

"I'll get Ulrich first."

Aelita nodded. "I'll call Yumi and meet you at the factory."

-Ulrich-

"Yes, Mr. Delmas. I understand…" he said, discouraged. He was in the most possible trouble Mr. Delmas could inflict without expelling him. He was to be followed to and from class by Jim every day until it was decided if charges were going to be pressed. He walked down the halls and into his room.

Kiwi crawled up to him and sniffed at his foot. He growled.

"You hate me too, huh?" Ulrich asked Kiwi, lying down on his bed. So much had happened in almost a week and he couldn't believe it.

"Ulrich," Odd said, coming into the room and sitting himself on his bed. "We need you to come to the factory. If you really are sorry for all of this, you'll follow. If not, we'll drag you there. It makes no difference to us."

"Us?" he asked, looking over and frowning as Yumi entered the doorway.

"Us," she said confirming it.

-Aelita-

She sat in the chair in front of the supercomputer waiting. All she needed now was Ulrich here and she could run the scan and find out if he was infected with some virus Xane was inflicting.

-Crystal-

She hid inside the small area she'd created and watched the virtual sky above her. Odd had said he'd virtualize her today and then she'd remember nothing of Xane's plan. She doubted he'd told her all of or even his real plan. She wasn't sure. She knew he wanted to get Xana out with his father's help. Though, she wasn't sure if Xana was really his father at all.

"Soon, Crystal, you won't be able to stop me. Once I finish my work with Ulrich then it's good-bye supercomputer for my father," Xane told her.

Crystal shook her head. "Take away my memory, but Odd and his friends will stop you."

Xane laughed. "That's what you think." He turned and left.

Two Krabs and three bloks stood in the way of her and outside.

-Odd-

"We brought him, Aelita," Odd stated as they left the elevator.

Aelita nodded. "Ulrich, enter the scanners. If you try anything, Odd and Yumi will be down there watching you."

"So don't try it," Odd said with a grin.

Ulrich nodded. "Aelita, I'm really sorry…"

She nodded curtly and said, "We'll see if we can forgive you. Odd, Yumi, take him to the scanners."

Once Ulrich was inside the scanner, Aelita ran the scan.

The Xana symbol appeared across the screen and began flashing.

_**A/N: Well, that's that! X3 This is a chapter that is a huuuuuuuuge cliff-hanger. The preview from last chapter is for the next chapter, just so you know so there won't be one here. Anyway, I'll probably update tomorrow around 9:30 U.S. Central Time. I know that some people aren't in the same country/time zone as me so I'm trying to give you an estimate so you know. Anyway, read and review! ^^**_


	7. Questions of Power

_**Questions of Power**_

_** A/N: Thanks for all the reviews everyone! X3 I'm glad you all like this story. ^^ Anyway, individual review replies:**_

_**Kilo'E'Prowers: **__It could be because my writing is getting better. XD Though, tiredness can add to different things. XD Anyway, that's a decent idea… P:_

_**lyokodreamer:**__ He came with them willingly. And yeah, that was perfect. Lol. And like I said in my PM, you're English is really good for a non-native speaker. X3_

_**YoruichiKittycat16:**__ I'm glad you like my story! X3_

_ Enough of my talking! To the story! X3_

Aelita typed furiously but was met by multiple beeps from the computer telling her that she couldn't do anything. "Odd, get down the scanners and tell me if Ulrich is in one!"

Yumi crossed the room to get away from Aelita's yelling of orders to Odd. Her phone had rung.

"He's not here!" Odd yelled back.

Aelita put the ear piece in her ear and began talking frantically. "Ulrich, Ulrich, can you hear me?"

"Yeah. I thought you said you were just running a scan, Aelita," Ulrich said.

-Ulrich-

He looked around. He was a great black expanse and was floating in mid-air. He had no clue what was going on.

"I was, but Xana took control of the supercomputer in the middle of it and virtualized you. I have no control over the computer anymore. All I can do is talk to you from my end. I can't even send Odd and Yumi," Aelita told him.

Ulrich frowned. This was just getting stranger and stranger. "Well Aelita, I'm not even in a sector. Not one we've seen, anyway. The entire area is black and I'm basically floating."

Aelita sighed in frustration. "I don't know what Xana is planning, but if you're not careful I know something bad will happen. No one can help you from here. You're basically on your own."

"Any good news, Aelita?" he asked, drawing his katana and holding it at the ready.

"Jeremie woke up and isn't pressing charges?" she tried.

"Well, I guess that's one good thing. Now, to figure out why I'm here and to find out what they want…" He walked around in the blackness, searching for something different. After some walking and falling he came across a man typing something on a computer. He walked up to him.

"My son… You're doing everything perfectly… Keep going… Send Crystal to Earth so she's not here to annoy us… … Yes, he's here with me… … Sadly, it was needed. I can't keep him here without his help. … Yes, I'll contact you again soon. Good-bye."

Ulrich caught this man's half of the conversation, but not his son's. He began to wonder about his sanity.

The man turned around and looked Ulrich up and down. "You'll do."

"Who're you?" Ulrich asked, holding the pommel of his katana tighter.

"I'm no one of importance to you," the man said.

Ulrich frowned. "That's not true. If you're here you're here for a reason. The only people that I've ever heard of being on Lyoko were Franz Hopper and Aelita. Xana is a virus so he wouldn't have a physical form, I don't think."

"I'm neither of those two," the man said as Ulrich was shot downward and through data.

-Aelita-

"Yumi, go to the hospital and see how Jeremie is. If he's awake try to tell him of what's going on. When his mom talked to me just a second ago she told me he was worried about us," Aelita told Yumi as she continued her typing, to no avail.

"I wish there was another way to get there!" Odd yelled, smashing his fist against the side of the supercomputer screen.

The screen flashed blue and filled with light. Once the light faded away, Franz Hopper's face appeared on the screen. He was surrounded by blue data blocks. "Children, I don't have much time to explain. Something horrible is happening. Xane was created by a hacker and he is bent on freeing Xana and himself from the confines I've struggled so long to keep them in. They want to use Ulrich to attack all of you and use Aelita to get them out. Together, they have the power to do that. I've blocked Xana's activated tower from working like he wants it so you have use of the supercomputer again, but only for a short while. I'm not sure how long my power over him will hold. Aelita, I have faith in you and your friends. You can do it," he told them and then disappeared from the screen.

"Odd, get down to the scanner, hurry! Yumi, go talk to Jeremie," Aelita commanded as she typed quickly into the computer. A timer popped up on the screen and she went to follow Odd into the scanner.

-Ulrich-

"Great, stranded in the forest sector," Ulrich said to no one in particular. He'd figured Aelita had ditched him a small while ago.

"Oh, Ulrich, you're a little ahead of schedule," Xane said behind him.

Ulrich turned around to face Xane and a girl who looked a lot like Aelita. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the school."

"That was the point. You were supposed to think I was at the school. If you didn't before you came here you wouldn't have gotten into the scanner."

"What did you mean by I was ahead of schedule before?"

"Oh, that. Well, you see, I'm trying to get my dad out of here so that he can destroy the rest of your race. That, or become king over all of you. You won't remember much, if any, of this conversation soon. Oh, and it may be painful."

"What're you talking about?" He was cautiously watching the girl beside Xane and Xane at the same time.

"Do I have to spell everything out for you? Oh well, might as well to kill time while we wait. You see, I needed a strong warrior to help me. I'm not strong enough on my own. I can barely do anything. Only possess people for a short amount of time. My dad can hack, but he's not that great at adding powers. Anyway, soon, you'll all be gone and you'll be head of my father's and Xana's army."

Ulrich stood there after Xane finished. His brain wouldn't process the information that he'd just been told. "But…" his mind switched gears. "What are you going to do to Jeremie?" he yelled, pulling his katana from its sheath and getting ready to lunge.

"I won't relinquish that information just yet…" Xane told him holding his hand up, palm facing toward Ulrich.

Ulrich's mind went blank. His limbs went numb. He felt a strange presence in his mind as he lost all control of his limbs.

Xane smiled as Aelita and Odd ran up toward them. "Destroy the blonde one, Ulrich. Get the girl to me."

Ulrich roughly nodded and charged at Odd. His movements while fighting were impulsive, fast, and jerky. Whoever had control over him wasn't a great fighter through Ulrich, but would get the job done.

-Yumi-

"Jeremie, right now there isn't anything you can do… You need to try to recover from Ulrich's beating and we'll handle it… If worse comes to worse we'll get you out of here for your help," Yumi told him. She was afraid for him. He was trying to put on a good face, but when your face is bruised along with your arms and stomach, it wasn't easy.

"Yumi, I wish you all the best of luck…" he coughed a little and continued. "If anything, get rid of Ulrich. I know about everything you all have found out and am at a loss of what else to do. If it gets to saving the world and destroying Ulrich or letting them out, destroy Ulrich," he said. He coughed again. They'd said he had a broken rib to add to all the bruises.

"How would we explain it?" Yumi asked, biting back the fear in her voice.

"We pretend he went missing… It's all we can do. Xana can't be allowed to do this, Yumi…"

"I know… I just hope it doesn't come down to that…"

Jeremie let out a small chuckle. "We all do… Knowing Xana, things will turn out for us, but we'll lose something or other."

"We have the fate of two worlds resting on our shoulders, huh?"

Jeremie nodded. "And we have to protect both…"

Yumi nodded in agreement as the battle on Lyoko turned for the worse.

_** A/N: I almost thought I wasn't going to get this out on time! XD Of course, I would have just finished tomorrow and probably posted two then, but I don't like doing that. . Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! Read and review! X3**_

_**~~MoonlitexAngel~~**_

_**Preview for next chapter:**_

"_Jeremie! What are you doing here?" Yumi yelled from the supercomputer._

"_I knew you needed help…" he coughed._

"_You're in no condition to do any of this!"_

"_Yumi, send me to Lyoko… I have something that will stop Ulrich…"_

_Yumi shook her head. "I can't let you do that… Not while you're in the condition you're in…"_

_Jeremie frowned. "Please… I can save Ulrich… I just need to get to him…"_


	8. The Fight of Two Worlds

_**The Fight of Two Worlds**_

_** A/N: You'll have to excuse me for not updating yesterday. X3 It was my birthday and my mom and sister took me out for dinner. It was a decent day. Anyway, here are the review replies! :**_

_**OnyxPelt415: **__I meant like I wanted you to give constructive criticism. Lol. Thanks for the review! X3_

_**Kep: **__Kep is easier to type. XD Anyway thanks! ^^_

_**lyokodreamer: **__Your welcome and thanks! X3 Anyway, yeah, your English is really good. :3 I'm surprised. Anyway, I'm not sure yet. I have an idea of what he'd look like, though… P:_

_**YoruichiKittyCat16: **__Thanks. X3 And truthfully, it could go either way. XD_

_**To the story!**_

Ulrich frowned in concentration as he fought off Odd. His limbs moved too much like a machine for Odd to pick up on it.

"C'mon Ulrich! You can fight it!" Odd yelled at him, using his shield to block another attack of his.

He watched as Xane got a hold of Aelita and balled his hand into a fist and punched Odd. He run up next to Xane and the four of them disappeared.

-Yumi-

Yumi raced for the factory. She'd just left Jeremie at the hospital, trying to keep high hopes. She didn't want to have had to leave him alone without a way to reach them, but she had to help Odd and Aelita.

"Yumi! Yumi, Yumi, Yumi!" Came Odd's voice as she reached the supercomputer's chair.

"What's going on, Odd?" she asked quickly looking over the screen.

"Nothing much, really. Ulrich's been taken over by the bad guys, Crystal got captured by the bad guys, and Aelita has been captured. I'm all alone here!"

"I'm looking for them as we speak. I'm glad Aelita showed me how stuff worked before I left for the hospital…"

"Hurry!"

"I'm working on it!" Yumi typed as fast as she dared and then told Odd, "They're in the Ice Sector. I recommend moving fast because they're probably trying to get the Scyphozoa there."

"I agree. While I'm headed there, what's going on with Jeremie? How is he?" Odd asked, as Yumi watched his triangle move toward the Passage Tower.

"He's been better… He seemed really worried about all of us. I'm not even sure what he thinks he'll be able to do if he's here, especially in his condition."

-Odd-

He ran through the forest region while trying to keep constant contact with Yumi. It wasn't an easy feat. "Yumi, any idea what's going to happen if we don't get there?"

"Xana and the hacker will get out and the entire world will be doomed," she replied as if she were telling him something less unnerving.

"Great. No pressure whatsoever."

"Just as Jeremie told me, we've got the fate of two worlds resting on our shoulders."

"And two lives. Aelita and Ulrich could die in the process of this."

"Thanks for reminding me," he said as he entered the tower toward the Ice Sector.

-Jeremie-

He frowned. He knew that Yumi, Aelita, Odd, and Ulrich were in trouble and no one would listen to let him go help them. He was stuck in this dumb hospital bed because of Xane. Just like Xana must have planned. He crossed his arms across his chest and began looking for different ways to get out of the room. He carefully lifted himself out of the bed and tested his weight on both his feet. He stumbled toward the window and opened it slightly, letting the cool afternoon air run over his face. He could stand the anxiety twisting itself around his stomach. He had to help the others and he'd escape this damned place to get through to them. Then a brilliant idea hit him.

-Ulrich-

He watched as the Scyphazoa took Aelita's memories. He couldn't move any part of his body. His arms were still holding his sword, but in its sheath as if getting ready for a huge battle.

"Ulrich, Odd is coming this way. He's alone. Yumi is telling him what to do from the computer and Xana is working for control over it again. Until then, hold him off as long as you can. You'll go back to normal if you're devirtualized," Xane said.

_Why would he tell me how to get myself back to normal? _Ulrich wondered as he raced toward his companion.

Odd was ready and shot Ulrich three times. His shoulder pained him a bit, but slashed his katana toward Odd.

-Yumi-

Yumi turned around as the elevator began making a noise as if it was moving. She stood at the ready for anything that might come out.

Jeremie's face appeared as the doors opened.

"Jeremie! What are you doing here?" Yumi yelled from the supercomputer.

"I knew you needed help…" he coughed.

"You're in no condition to do any of this!"

"Yumi, send me to Lyoko… I have something that will stop Ulrich…"

Yumi shook her head. "I can't let you do that… Not while you're in the condition you're in…"

Jeremie frowned. "Please… I can save Ulrich… I just need to get to him…"

"Jeremie, you have problems getting to Lyoko on normal terms. What are you going to do once you're there?" Yumi asked skeptically as she watched Aelita's memory ebbing away.

"Just trust me, okay?" Jeremie yelled and then coughed violently. "I need to get to Ulrich, NOW!"

Yumi ran over to him and helped hold him up. "Jeremie… Do you really think you can do this..?"

Jeremie nodded. "I think so…"

Yumi still looked at him worriedly, but nodded in agreement. "I'll transfer you. Do you need help to the scanners?"

Jeremie shook his head.

-Odd-

He was failing. Ulrich was gaining ground in the battle and Aelita's memory was almost completely gone. He could feel it. He watched as a look of pure worry and horror crossed Ulrich's face and he fell to the ground with a scream.

-Ulrich-

He'd found his way to fight. He could break down his nervous system. He could destroy his thought process. He just hoped it wouldn't completely destroy him in the process. He continued to make it the worst idea possible to be in his body. He made sure to try and cause the most physical and mental pain to anyone he'd ever known of. He pushed at every weak spot he could find until his body trembled and fell to the ground as the presence left his body and took someone else.

"Odd! Get Aelita!" he still couldn't move. His limbs felt numb with the feeling of being able to move them again.

Odd rushed at Aelita and was almost there before a figure stepped in front of him and stopped him. "No way…"

"It can't be…" Ulrich whispered, watching the person.

"No… This can't be..!" Yumi choked out from above them.

_**A/N: So, what did you all think this time? I'm glad that I got this chapter finished and hope to have two more to this part, but there might only be one. It all depends on what I decide to do. Anyway, I left you all with quite the cliff-hanger, huh? Who's the mysterious figure that stands in Odd's way? You'll see…**_

_**Preview for the next chapter or maybe one or two after that:**_

_Darkness fell upon the Ice Sector as life itself seemed to crash down on the four. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita were there together, but the fifth member was missing from their ranks._

"_It definitely wasn't the best idea," Ulrich said, leaning against Yumi for support._

"_Definitely not," Yumi added._

"_It had to be done, though," Aelita told them in an understanding voice._

"_Do you not understand what's going on you guys?" Odd yelled._

_They all looked over at him._

"_We know what's at stake, Odd."_


	9. The Truth of the Matter

_**The Truth of the Matter**_

_** A/N: I explained the situation to you all in my author's note chapter. I'll bunch together the reviews for last chapter and this chapter together because I'm too lazy to open up my e-mail right now.**_

Ulrich watched from the ground as the thing that had been inside him, if it could even be classified as something, entered into Jeremie's body and morphed it into a hideous monster.

"Now watch and dare to fight!" Xane yelled at Odd, knowing full well that Ulrich was incapacitated for the time being.

"Yumi! I could use some help since Ulrich can't move!" Odd yelled, shooting off three laser arrows and missing the Scyphazoa by an inch.

"I'll try my best to get there, but no promises," Yumi told him.

-Unknown-

The man continued typing and watching the fight. "Son, you're doing well… Keep Jeremie under your power for a small time longer and I can finish…"

Xane's face appeared on the screen in front of him. "Why is it taking so long to take Aelita's memory?"

"I've slowed the process. I want to see them struggle as everything is taken from them," the man said, stroking the beard on his face.

"If you toy with them too long they'll figure it out and beat you, you know that?"

"I know what I'm doing. I don't need to be told. Now, keep up what you're doing. A few more seconds…"

-Ulrich-

Since he could move he was watching Xane and Crystal closely. He knew Xane had something up his sleeve and he wasn't ready to give up what he was fight for. He struggled against his shaking body to at least move his arms to pull himself forward. He refused to lose. He couldn't.

-Jeremie-

He watched in pure horror as his friends were forced to fight against him. He couldn't stand it. He failed and only ended up endangering himself and everyone else by coming here. If they ever made it out of this, he swore to himself to never return to Lyoko. Ever. He felt information being copied from his data.

-Yumi-

She typed quickly hoping that the information was right and ran down to the scanner in time to be brought to Lyoko.

"Odd, what is that thing?" she asked as soon as she landed, staring up at the monstrous being beside Xane.

"That's Jeremie," Odd said, dodging one of the tentacles that Jeremie had.

"Great…" Yumi said, wishing that her life was simpler. "What do you need me to do?"

"Try your best to get Aelita down!" Odd yelled continuing his failing efforts to defeat Jeremie and Xane.

Yumi nodded and started her own barrage of fans to get rid of the monster Jeremie had been turned into when mysteriously he just disappeared and Aelita was dropped from the Scyphazoa's hold.

Xane laughed maniacally. "It is done and now your world will fall to our might!"

A bright light exploded around Xane and when it finally cleared he was gone.

Yumi walked over to Aelita and checked to see if she was alive.

Odd dragged Ulrich over and stood next to Yumi.

-Jeremie-

He was a floating form in between their world and Lyoko and could see what was happening. His thoughts flickered between worlds as Xane and the man he called his father entered their world and Aelita was basically dead on Lyoko. He could stand it and plunged his hand into the cloud holding the picture of Aelita on the ground and his three friends crying around her.

-Odd-

He watched in disbelief as Yumi shook her head. "Xana has won…" He looked over at Ulrich. He had his head down on the ice and was silently crying.

Soon after, Yumi and Odd joined him. Their only hope to save the whole of humanity was gone and now Xane, his father, and Xana were going to take over the world. It wasn't fair…

Odd blinked back the tears as a green light filled the entire area. It was blinding enough to get them all to look up and see Jeremie as a flash before their eyes before Aelita's eyes opened.

-Aelita-

She felt tired. It wasn't possible to be tired in Lyoko, but she was. She sat up slowly. "Wh-What happened..?" She looked around to see the others crying silently.

"It's a long story…" Odd whispered, understanding what had just happened.

Yumi wiped her eyes and said, "This fight isn't over yet…"

"It is for one of us…" Ulrich said as Yumi pulled him up to help him stand.

Darkness fell upon the Ice Sector as life itself seemed to crash down on the four. Yumi, Ulrich, Odd, and Aelita were there together, but the fifth member was missing from their ranks.

"It definitely wasn't the best idea," Ulrich said, leaning against Yumi for support.

"Definitely not," Yumi added.

"It had to be done, though," Aelita told them in an understanding voice.

"Do you not understand what's going on you guys?" Odd yelled.

They all looked over at him.

"We know what's at stake, Odd."

Aelita shook her head. "If we can get back and initiate a return to past then we might be able to-" she got choked up as she realized it was almost impossible.

Odd hugged her tight and said, "We need to get out of here… Lyoko's form has been altered… It's never been night here before and I'm pretty sure I'm beginning to feel a bit of a chill…"

The other nodded.

"We can try, Aelita… It's all we can do… He chose to give himself up…" Yumi said trying to keep a good face.

Aelita nodded. "It'll take time, though…"

"I'm going to stay awhile, okay..?" Ulrich told them, as he moved away from Yumi and tested his weight on his feet.

They nodded and after a few minutes he was alone.

-Ulrich-

He ran through the Forest Sector hoping that his plan would work. If he could do it he'd have to leave the others, but it would end up helping everyone in the end.

-Aelita-

"I don't know, alright Yumi? I don't know why he wasn't brought back here since I did the return to the past. I don't know why Jeremie wasn't brought back. He's not dead so he should have. I do not, nor have I ever claimed to have all the answers, alright?" Aelita said hotly while they all sat in Ulrich and Odd's room.

"Then tell me when you get a clue," she said angrily and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Two Lyoko Warriors in a day…" Odd sighed heavily. "Jeremie's gone until further notice and Ulrich has disappeared…"

Aelita nodded grimly. "What're we going to do now..? You and I can't fight alone…"

"Recruit someone else until Yumi can cope with this or Ulrich returns…" Odd suggested.

"Odd… We should make a tribute to Jeremie somewhere…" Aelita said as the tears threatened to intrude upon her face again.

Odd nodded. "And one for Ulrich, too… He might be gone for all we know…"

Aelita nodded. "Call Yumi and tell her that and tell her where you want it to be… We'll all meet there with flowers and things…"

(*)(*)(*)(*) A few hours later at the factory (*)(*)(*)(*)

They were all standing at the opposite end of the supercomputer staring at their handiwork. They'd piled Jeremie's and Ulrich's favorite things into separate piles and had laid a small note next to each. Jeremie's read:

_**Jeremie Belpois 1993-2006**_

_The smartest Lyoko Warrior of the five. He bravely gave himself up to save Aelita…_

Ulrich's read:

_**Ulrich Stern 1992-2006**_

___The strongest in all of Lyoko. He thought he was doing what was right and that ended up being his downfall…_

(A/N: I told you in the beginning that this story is taking place within Season Three and Season Three went through 2006. That's what it says '-2006'. :3)

"The scan picks up no one on Lyoko…" Aelita stated, staring at the two piles and letting the tears fall freely down her cheeks. "Xane, his father, and Xana are out there somewhere right now… I refuse to let them win…"

Odd nodded in silent agreement. "We have to avenge Ulrich and Jeremie…"

Yumi nodded, hugging Aelita tightly. "One day we'll get them both back…"

That night they all spent the entire time sitting in the factory and mourning the loss of their fallen comrades and fellow Lyoko Warriors…

_**A/N: Don't worry people, this isn't the end of the story. X3 Some people are evil and leave you hanging. XD I'm not like that. Nope. Lol. Anyway, if I don't update for awhile you'll know why. Ummm… If my mom lets us have the computer tomorrow, I'll probably update around 9:00 – 9:30 Central Time. So, until then, read and review!**_

_**Preview of next chapter**_

"_Today's the day…" Odd said sadly._

"_I can't believe it's been a year…" Aelita added holding back the tears._

_Odd hugged her tightly._

"_It's felt like ten…" Yumi added, hanging her head over her food._

"_Yeah…" Aelita said._

"_We found Jeremie, at least…" Odd said in a whisper._

"_It doesn't do us any good with Xane and his father on the loose…"_

_Yumi nodded. _And Ulrich's gone, _she thought sadly._


	10. Ghost of the Past

_**Part 2: Ghosts of the Past**_

_** A/N: I'm feeling lazy today… We got out of school today because of snow and I get half of this chapter done last night. Luck you, huh? XD Anyway, thank you to: Kep, lyokodreamer, YoruichiKittyCat16, and OnyxPelt14 for reviewing. ^^ I think that's everyone that reviewed anyway… O.o"""**_

_** Onto the story!**_

_**(Do remember that this is a year later. :3)**_

Yumi hugged William tight. "Sorry, I can't… Today is the day that-" she still got choked up mentioning their names.

"I understand… Go spend some time with Odd and Aelita…" he whispered, kissing her cheek and then walking off.

She smiled and went to lunch. "Hey you guys…" she said as she sat at the table. Not even Odd had any food.

"Are we all free this afternoon?" Aelita asked, leaning against Odd's shoulder.

Odd and Yumi nodded.

"I'll grab some flowers on my way from my house…" she didn't dare say the factory. It always made Aelita cry uncontrollably…

"Today's the day…" Odd said sadly.

"I can't believe it's been a year…" Aelita added holding back the tears.

Odd hugged her tightly.

"It's felt like ten…" Yumi added, hanging her head over her food.

"Yeah…" Aelita said.

"We found Jeremie, at least…" Odd said in a whisper.

"It doesn't do us any good with Xane and his father on the loose…"

Yumi nodded. _And Ulrich's gone_, she thought sadly.

(*)(*)(*)(*)The Factory(*)(*)(*)(*)

They'd already been there for an hour and Mr. Delmas had called to find out where they'd gone. They'd told him that they were all hanging out since today was the anniversary of the day their friends disappeared. He understood and left them alone.

"I wish we'd have told Ulrich to come back with us…" Aelita whispered, staring at the words on Jeremie's pile.

"None of us could have known that this would have happened…" Odd whispered, kissing her cheek.

"I just wish it hadn't happened…" Aelita whispered, the tears cascading down her cheeks.

"Y'know… We haven't been to Lyoko since the incident…" Yumi whispered to the other three hours later.

"Do you think we should go and check out the damage ourselves..?" Aelita asked.

Yumi and Odd nodded in unison.

-Aelita-

She really didn't think that this was the best idea, but she was curious as the rest of her friends. The three baddies of Lyoko had been quiet for a year, but were going to stop soon. "I'll stay here and man the computer. Xana's monsters may attack at any time."

The other two nodded.

-Yumi-

She looked over at the elevator as her and Odd were about to go down the ladder and could have swore she saw Ulrich smiling at her and urging her to go on.

She stepped into the scanner and pushed the image from her mind as Aelita virtualized them.

-Odd-

He shivered. "The only thing that's difference is that it's _cold_ in the Ice Sector."

"Not to mention it's kind of slippery," Yumi added as she almost fell down.

"Try to get to the forest or mountain regions and see what they're like. If I remember correctly night also fell on Lyoko and I want to see if that still holds true right now," Aelita told them as she typed to get their vehicles. "It'll be easier with the Overwing and Overboard, don'tcha think?"

"Yeah, just hurry up because we're freezing here!" Odd said, rubbing his hands against his arms.

"Yeah, yeah, don't be such a baby," Aelita told him with a slight giggle.

"Hey! I got you to laugh!" Odd exclaimed punching his fist up in the air.

"Looks like you did…" she said softly as she hit the enter button and the two vehicles appeared. They didn't dare touch the Overbike. It was Ulrich's and always would be.

"So, what sector do we want to check out while we kill time to see if sundown really happens?" Yumi asked, hopping onto the Overboard.

"I don't recommend the desert. If the sectors actually have temperature you'll want to avoid that one at all costs until dusk. It'll be too hot till then," Aelita told them as the two raced for the Passage Tower.

-Aelita-

She rubbed her temples while trying to concentrate. She could have swore that she'd felt Jeremie just now. She closed her eyes and focused on Jeremie.

His voice was barely audible, but in a faint whisper she heard him say her name.

-Jeremie-

He was watching as his memories floated by him in a mass of color and sound. He caught glimpses of different ones and caught conversations from others. Without warning the images stopped and Jeremie was standing before an image he didn't even remember. He'd been a baby. He wasn't sure how or why this was happening, but he knew that he wanted to find out why it had stopped on this memory and not a different one. He put his foot into the image and let his body be consumed by the memory.

The first thing he realized was that it wasn't his own. He was standing in an empty field. He watched as two figures became clearer in the distance and he could see they were fighting, one with sword and the other with fists.

Jeremie walked up closer and realized who the two were. It was Ulrich and Xane.

"I won't let you take them, Xane. They deserve a peaceful life already!" Ulrich yelled jabbing the sword, which was almost an exact replica of his sword on Lyoko, at Xane.

Xane danced away from it and laughed. "Even with the power you have you can't defeat me by yourself. I was born to be powerful. You're a weak and fragile human."

"I'll avenge Jeremie and then you'll have to deal with my might," Ulrich said sheathing his sword and super sprinting away.

-Yumi-

"What time is it, Aelita?" Yumi asked as she watched her step. The mountain sector had been disintegrating over the past year.

"It's almost sundown. Just five more minutes and I'll revirtualize you unless you both want to check out the other two regions," Aelita said into the microphone.

"We'll check them out another day," Odd stated. "I'm just glad that Xana's monsters aren't around."

"They've been awfully quiet," Yumi noted.

(*)(*)(*)(*) Ishiyama Residence later that night (*)(*)(*)(*)

Yumi sneaked into her house and up to her room.

"A letter came for you today," Hiroki told her waving a white envelope in front of her face.

Yumi grabbed it. "Don't take my things, Hiroki."

"Or what?" he asked walking away to his room.

"One day you'll get what's coming to you," she whispered as she entered her room and opened the envelope. She guessed it was another love letter from William. She gasped when she opened it. It read:

_ Dear Yumi,_

_I know, this is a really late explanation. I'm sorry to you, Odd, and Aelita. I shouldn't have left like I did. I can't explain everything right now, but know that I'm watching over you guys. You have no need to worry._

_ I'm writing this letter in Kadic's library. I've been around the area for awhile and thought I'd finally come back. Though, you won't recognize me with everything that's changed. That is, not until I want to be seen by you guys. Xane and his dad are really going at it and I'm keeping you guys safe. If you could get Jeremie back, that would be great._

_ To end this letter I'd like to say two things. One, thank you… I've seen the tribute to me in the factory and I was touched. I cried for a good while, too. Two, now that Xana, Xane's dad, and Xane have been released we can use our Lyoko powers on Earth. Practice with them._

_ Stay strong, Yumi. Don't falter and I'll see you soon…_

_With love,_

_Ulrich Stern_

Yumi read and re-read the letter. Her eyes began to tear up as she pulled out her phone and called Aelita. "I know we just left the factory, but we need to go back. I have to show you guys something…"

_** A/N: You might get another two updates today because I don't have a lot to do on the computer other than write and this is really the only story I have ideas for. XD So, read and review!**_

_**P.S. My fingers are freezing. XD**_


	11. The Hidden Truth

_**The Hidden Truth**_

_** A/N: So far lyokodreamer was the only one who reviewed. X3 So thanks! *hands cookie* (I'm doing it anyway. XDD)**_

Odd read the letter for the third time. He couldn't believe what Ulrich was telling him.

_ Dear Odd,_

_I know that this is late. Odd, I apologize for making you guys worry about me… I had to leave, though. It wouldn't have been fair for me to drag you guys farther into the mess that I created. I'm watching over you guys and protecting you so, don't worry about stuff. Okay?_

_ There are a few things that I'd like to point out to you. Now, we can use the powers we had on Lyoko here on Earth now. It has to do with Xane, his dad, and Xana being out. I've been practicing with my super sprint all this time and some other things._

_ Watch over Yumi for me, okay? I can't watch over you guys twenty-four seven and it's difficult with everything going on. You'll see me sometime soon._

_ Your friend,_

_ Ulrich Stern_

Odd's phone buzzed beside him and he picked it up in a daze. "Hello?"

"Yumi wants to meet up at the factory. Be there and get there quickly," Aelita said and then hung up.

-Aelita-

_Dear Aelita,_

_I have very little time to write you this. Jeremie is definitely out there somewhere. I know that you've either found him already or given up hope. Strangely enough, I've been in almost constant contact with him for almost a week now. He has no clue how to get back to you all, but I'm working on it._

_ Please understand that I left to protect you all. I made the mistake of letting Xane get the better of me and I plan on fixing it. I hate that I left in such a rush, but I couldn't explain myself and wait to convince you guys._

_ Aelita, take good care of Yumi for me. I'd hate to see anything happen to her by the account of the fact I can't keep my eyes on you guys at all times._

_ I'll leave you with this. Our powers from Lyoko work here on Earth. Practice them._

_ Your friend,_

_ Ulrich Stern_

That was what Ulrich's letter had read and she could tell by Yumi's tone that she'd gotten one, too. She held onto the faintest bit of hope that Ulrich would return to them.

(*)(*)(*)(*) At the Factory (*)(*)(*)(*)

They all stared at the little pile with Ulrich's name printed near it. He'd been there at some point. He'd seen their tributes… He could talk to Jeremie…

"What do we do now…?" Yumi asked, her voice catching in her throat.

"We don't listen to him and try to find him. If you saw him in the elevator the other day then he's probably close. Since he can super sprint he could have easily left before you pointed him out," Aelita noted, typing into the supercomputer. "I've been trying to make a program for us to gain contact with Jeremie, but I'm not sure if it'll work. I tried once and all I heard was him say my name. It's a start, though."

"Don't forget we should probably practice with our Lyoko powers, too," Odd told them as he sat Indian-style on the floor.

"Tomorrow is a Saturday so let's all go out in the forest and look while we practice," Yumi said.

Aelita giggled slightly and nodded. "You know him the best. He always stayed out in the forest when he wanted some alone time."

Yumi let out her held breath and laughed.

"Well, it's five a.m. and I doubt any of us is going to get any sleep. So, do we want to head out right now?"

Yumi yawned loudly and nodded. "We'll grab some food while we're out, too. My parents would scream if I brought you all to my house at five in the morning and they're probably not happy that I was out all night."

Odd and Aelita nodded in agreement.

(*)(*)(*)(*) In the Forest (*)(*)(*)(*)

-Yumi-

"Well, I'm getting better at holding out…" Yumi panted after she'd held a boulder up for ten seconds. She'd started at five. They'd been practicing for almost two hours.

"I think yours is the most difficult to control and use out here," Odd told her, pulling up his shield.

Aelita agreed and silently began firing off energy orbs.

Yumi watched the two fighting in silent wishful thinking. She wished it was as easy for her as it was for them. Aelita still missed Jeremie, but she and Odd seemed attached at the hip. They were so close. "I envy you both."

They turned to look at her with a questioning look.

"You both love each other. You know for sure. I'm not exactly positive if I love William or Ulrich. I know I'm with William, but…"

Aelita nodded. "I get what you mean. Sometimes, even if we look happy together, Odd and I both go through that same feeling. We're so close to getting Jeremie back and now Ulrich's returning and…"

Odd nodded. "Not to mention that I have someone that like on and off…" He blushed bright red and turned away.

"Well, let's get looking," Yumi said, brushing the dirt off her pants.

"We'll search for two hours and then stop and practice again?" Odd questioned.

Aelita looked over at Yumi who nodded in agreement.

-Ulrich- (A/N: He looks the same as his season 4 outfit, but it's got a hood on it, 'kay? I've been trying to explain it for the past half hour. *explanation fail*)

He raced through the forest outside of Kadic Academy. He knew they'd look for him there, but he'd already left the letters and they already knew. Xane would go after them the next chance he got and Ulrich had to make sure they were ready. Then he'd leave again. It might not be as long.

_**You're an idiot, y'know that, Ulrich? You can't just leave and then go back and keep doing that. You either stay there or you fight Xane and the others, **_Jeremie told him.

_You don't think I know that? But you know something, they have a right to know what all is going on and I'm not going to deprive them of that. I was there at the factory the other day, remember? _Ulrich told him as he broke through the line of trees, about a five minute walk ahead of his friends.

_**It's your head, not mine.**_

___That line is really getting old, Jeremie. You say it every day for every decision I make that you don't like. I almost beat Xane until you intruded that one day and I lost concentration._

_**Pretend I'm not even here.**_

Ulrich could tell that Jeremie had left him and he was glad. He pulled his hood up over his face as he walked toward his friends.

-Yumi-

She was in the head of the small group walking along the path. The thought of seeing Ulrich again filled her heart with longing and dread. She wanted to see him so bad and yet-

"Hey, watch where you're going," a voice said above her.

She looked up and apologized.

"Y-Yumi…" Aelita said as she pointed at the person she'd bumped into.

The person began pacing and said, "I would've thought you'd get this before Aelita did."

-Odd (a few hours later in his room) -

His best friend was back.

"Like I told you in your letters, I can't say much. I'm not staying long either. I don't need Jeremie berating me every second. He doesn't agree with my decision to come to you guys."

"Why is that?" Aelita asked from Ulrich's old bed.

Yumi was leaning against the desk.

"He doesn't want me to drag you guys into all this again. Parts of Lyoko are disintegrating and Xane and all them have tried to kill the three of you more than once. I've defeated them each time. Odd, I recommend that you get some sort of gun. It'll be as close to your laser arrows as you get. You can't use those around here. Same goes for you, Yumi. I'm not sure why they don't, they just don't. Also, if anyone has any money to lend me that'd be great," Ulrich told them.

"Are you going to be leaving soon?" Aelita asked, kicking the edge of his bed.

"Not right away. I might re-attend school soon. I just have to make sure Jeremie isn't going to be yelling at me the whole time.

Something told Odd he would be yelling at Ulrich the whole time.

"The reason I need the money is so that I can buy myself some new swords. I have almost enough," he told them.

-Ulrich-

He stared at his three friends and wished he hadn't had to drag them into this.

_**Use your brain, Ulrich. You didn't need to tell them. You just decided to.**_

___I told them because it was the right thing to do, jerk._

_**Shut up, Ulrich. Just get to the supercomputer.**_

_** A/N: I think that's long enough. Tomorrow my regularly scheduled updates will be back to normal if we have school. With all the snow that's apparently coming in I don't know if we will. Anyway, thanks for reading! X3**_


	12. Wishful Thinking

_**Wishful Thinking**_

_** A/N: If you guys would check out my one-shot that I wrote out I'd appreciate it. X3 Though, if it's not your style, you don't have to. Thanks to the people that reviewed:**_

_**Kep: **__I can actually kind of imagine him like the stand-offish type. He's not the kind to tell everyone what he's thinking. And thanks for the compliment! X3_

_**Onyxpelt415: **__Thank you sooooo much. X3_

_**YoruichiKittyCat16: **__*salute* I plan on updating everyday if I can make it. XD_

_**lyokodreamer: **__Thanks and thanks. X3 I'm glad you thought so. And I just decided they couldn't. The original idea for it came from Garage Kids and they, as far as I knew, couldn't use their weapons. :3_

_Thoughts_

_**Jeremie speaking to Ulrich**_

_**Onto the story!**_

Ulrich stopped to catch his breath in the elevator and pushed the button. He didn't like the idea of doing this…

_**You helped get me into this mess, hmm? You have to help me get out of it.**_

___It's not all my fault, y'know. You're the one that had to save Aelita and have his data scattered (basically what happened to Franz Hopper in the end of Season 3. Jeremie took Franz's place in that.)_

_**You know as well as I do that Aelita had to be saved. Now hurry up and get to the computer.**_

___Y'know what? I wish that you'd give me alone time sometimes._

_**Yes, yes. If you get this done I'll leave you alone for awhile. I need to explore where I am and you doing this will allow me to. After that it's a matter of time-**_

___I need to concentrate. _Jeremie was silent after that. Ulrich began typing quickly, trying to get the program working correctly.

-Odd-

He sat up and quieted Kiwi down. Something had made the dog begin to madly bark and he wasn't sure what. He sat up and stared up at the moon. After awhile, he got out of bed and stretched. He looked over at Ulrich's bed, hoping to make sure he didn't wake him, and realized he wasn't there. He freaked and called Aelita.

"Odd..? What're you doing up this early?" she asked him drowsily.

"Ulrich is MISSING! AGAIN! What if something happened to him, Aelita?" Odd yelled into the phone.

"Nothing happened to him, Odd? Didn't you notice how much stronger he looked?" she yawned. "He's fine… Nothing to worry about, okay?"

Odd sighed. "I doubt it, but I'll take your word for it…"

"Good," she yawned again. "Now get some sleep…"

"G'night…" he whispered and then hung up. He cursed in Italian. (A/N: I want to maybe add some Italian, though most will be added from different translators off the internet. –Google translator being the best one I've found next to Yahoo! Babel Fish-)

-Aelita-

She sighed and pushed herself out of bed. She fished around for her shoes and silently left her room. She knew that Odd's worries were viable, but didn't want him up all night again. It was already 1 o'clock.

She sneaked out of the school and to the factory. She made her way to the supercomputer and frowned. Ulrich was sitting there typing away.

"Yes, Jeremie, I know," Ulrich said aloud.

Aelita cleared her throat.

-Ulrich-

He looked over as Aelita began patting her foot against the floor. "What're you doing up this early?"

"Wondering about where you were. Odd called and freaked out and told me you disappeared on us again," she replied, glaring him down. "How were you talking to Jeremie?"

"I told you, Aelita, after he gave up his form to keep you alive I've been in constant contact with him. I'd gotten into the habit of talking to him out loud since I'd been alone. He told me there were some ways to get him back here that I wanted to try. Also, he's been surfing the web, he learned how to do that, and he's found different sources on how to get Xane and the others back to Lyoko so they're at least locked up. I can't afford sleep," he explained, still typing.

Aelita put her hand on his shoulder and felt it tense under her fingers. "Ulrich… You're human just like the rest of us… You need your sleep and there's nothing that you can do to change that… Alright? Don't push yourself so hard that you pass out or hurt yourself because of exhaustion…"

"Aelita, being gone for a year has changed me a lot… I've not slept a full night in two months, alright? Three hours of sleep is a far reach for me. I've slept for an hour and spent an entire day fighting for you guys. I'm fine."

"You need sleep if you haven't had a full night's sleep in that long, Ulrich…"

"No. That'll get me back in the habit and I'd have to start all over again. I know you guys are worried, but I know what I'm doing, alright?"

Aelita shook her head. "You'll never save Jeremie this way… If you're this powerful on this small amount of sleep then imagine how much clearly you'd think if you slept an entire night." She left him to brood then.

Ulrich mulled these things over in his mind and shoved them off. "Alright, Jeremie, what do you think?"

_**You'll need to sleep eventually, but for the time being keep going. You're turning into a mini-me, huh?**_

__Ulrich heard a mental laugh from Jeremie and chuckled. "I guess so…"

(*)(*)(*)(*) The Next Morning at Breakfast (*)(*)(*)(*)

"Do you really think he's hiding that much from us that we need to worry?" Yumi asked. She had just gotten there.

Odd was pouting because Aelita had left and told him to sleep.

"Well, we can never know. He claims to have been fighting against Xane and everything, but he has a past of not even being able to deal with Xane's influence. Not to mention he was using the supercomputer and talking to someone whom he claimed to be Jeremie," Aelita added, taking a bite of her food to allow Yumi to speak.

"Well, we'll just need to keep a close watch on him, then, right?"

Aelita nodded as Ulrich walked over with his hood up. "Odd, bring me some food to your room, okay?"

Odd nodded and watched as the brunette walked away. He frowned, but continued to eat. "Do you really think he's hiding something?" he asked through a mouthful of food.

Aelita stared at him. She was dumbfounded. "I just explained that."

"Yes, but do you really mean it?" he asked, pointing his fork at her. "And don't lie. I can tell."

"I'm not sure… I don't want to believe that he's hiding something from us, but… I'm not so sure…"

Odd nodded, satisfied by the answer, and continued eating.

-Ulrich-

He smiled as he typed the last parts of code that Jeremie had given him into the laptop that lay next to his bed. _I never did return this…_

_**Doesn't really do much good now, huh? At least you had it. If you hadn't my dad probably would have gotten a hold of it. So thanks, Ulrich.**_

___No problem. It probably would've gotten dusty if I hadn't have come back here, y'know?_

_**Yeah… I'm sorry about the other day and telling you what you were doing was dumb. It's a good idea. It's easier to keep them safe with you there and you don't have to keep sneaking into the factory. Ulrich, do you think we'll really get out of this mess we've gotten ourselves into?**_

___Yeah… Definitely not unscathed, but we'll get out. You'll be able to Aelita back from Odd and I can have Yumi… I just hope that this all ends soon…_

_**You know as well as I that this won't end soon… I just hope normality begins to take you and you get back to trying to be a normal kid.**_

___Who's the older one here, Jeremie?_

_**You, but I act older.**_

___Yeah, yeah… I really do hope that this all ends soon…_

_**It won't.**_

___I know…_

-Jeremie-

He frowned, thinking of the pain that all of this was causing Ulrich. All the pain this had caused Aelita, Yumi, and Odd… He stared into a memory of Ulrich from a month after he'd started his venture.

_Flashback-_

_ Ulrich ran as fast as he dared and only stopped momentarily to take a breath._

_ "Do you think you'll stop us that way? In a year and a half, our goal will be able to be finished. You interfering does nothing but make our hatred of your kind grow stronger," Xane said, standing above Ulrich._

_ "Your dad's a human. What about him?" Ulrich panted out._

_ "Oh, he's on our side. Any human on our side isn't hurt."_

_ "Nice. Damn the rest of the race to extinction, huh?"_

_ "No. The remainder of your race will be enslaved or imprisoned. Your friends and you will be destroyed. Jeremie's already halfway there."_

_ "You don't know what you're talking about," he sneered._

_ "Oh? Don't I? His digital body is disintegrating as we speak. Once that is fully done his consciousness will meld with yours and then he'll be gone. All except for random thoughts of Jeremie's running through your head he'll never be able to return or heard from again."_

Jeremie couldn't stand to hear the rest of the conversation and stepped away from it. It was a painful memory that he and Ulrich shared. It scared Jeremie to think of himself as a thought in Ulrich's head. That was his driving force.

They only had not even seven months left until Jeremie would be trapped in Ulrich's mind… Forever…

_**A/N: Another person that I PM and has read this story mentioned that they wanted to see more of Ulrich's and Jeremie's past year and what happened. I plan on doing that. Maybe a whole chapter or just half of one. Left you with a cliff-hanger, didn't I? XD**_

_**Well, hit the little blue button down there and review! ^^**_


	13. Reprimands

_**Reprimands**_

_** A/N: Ahhhhhh… Back in my favorite computer chair to write out another chapter for you guys. I'm feeling quite random today so, stick with me. XD Ummmm… Something I've been meaning to ask you guys, is it easier to tell which character it's one when I got like this:**_

_**-Jeremie-**_

_**OR**_

_**(*)(*)(*)(*)Jeremie(*)(*)(*)(*)**_

_**And if neither of those work, what do you suggest? I'm curious. Anyway, my reviewers!:**_

**Kilo'E'Prowers: **_-.-" Line-break fail. *nods in agreement* Most of Ulrich's and Jeremie's past is going to be represent through Jeremie being a "creeper" (as my sister put it. XD) and sifting through Ulrich's memories for clues. Though, half of this chapter may or may not be made up of that. Not sure yet. XD And I will definitely go into everyone's. :3_

**lyokodreamer: **_Eh. Meh was having a spaz attack and Odd reflected that. (I WAS NOT reading OddxUlrich or UlrichxOdd yaoi/shonen-ai –as it's really called, but people just call it yaoi- at the time… Nope… ." XD Yes, I'm interested by most any story. Though, I draw my line at hardcore yuri. *shudders*) Lol. Thanks! X3_

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_I'm glad you think so. :3_

**Onyxpelt14: **_I'm not completely how long Jeremie and Ulrich's explanation will be, but more than likely it will add up to about two chapters worth in time. XD_

**flyboy961: **_Lol. Yeah. XD It was influenced. XD Thanks for reviewing!_

_**Well, onto the story! X3 (No line-break fail this time, Kep. XD)**_

Ulrich looked over at Odd and smiled as envy filled his body. Odd was still a normal teenager. He still got to sleep in and hang out with friends. Ulrich wasn't always sure he'd make it through to the next day. "Jeremie," he whispered. "Anything new on your end?"

_**You do realize that while you were sleeping you unconsciously asked me that 2,582 times?**_

___No, I hadn't realized that. But nonetheless, did you get any farther? _He asked as he made his way out of Odd's room and down the hall to Jeremie's old room. He slipped into the room silently and looked around for anything of theirs he could use.

_**They've kept my room vacant?**_

___Yeah, your dad begged and pleaded because he thought you'd come back… _He told the blonde genius as he sorted through some old things.

_**I never thought he'd actually do something like that. I mean, I know I'm his son and all, but why keep my room vacant?**_

___His last shred of hope that you'd come back… _His phone buzzed in his pocket and he looked at the screen to see an unread message.

**To: **_Ulrich_

**From: **_Dad_

**Message: **_Son, if you're out there somewhere please call… Your mother is in quite the state and she's obsessed with finding you. We're very worried…_

Ulrich pocketed his phone and restarted his search as the door was silently pushed open.

"Ulrich, what're you doing up this early?" Odd asked him, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Go back to bed, Odd," Ulrich said, not stopping or slowing his searching.

He crossed his arms against his chest and stood still. "No. I'm not going to go to bed until you're back in the room. Aelita told Yumi and me that you haven't had much sleep lately. Yumi freaked out and told Aelita we needed to get you to sleep some more." (A/N: Probably should've been in the last chapter as a part of conversation, but it wasn't major as other stuff and I was being yelled at. Lol.)

Ulrich turned around. "Would you rather I sleep and then someone end up dead, Odd?"

Odd glared at him. "You know as well as I do that that isn't going to happen. If it does, you still have Jeremie's computer in our room and I'm pretty sure Aelita has it set up decently to detect them coming."

_**If you ignore him, Ulrich, he'll most likely go away.**_

__Ulrich sighed. _No, Jeremie, he won't. You know as well as I do that Yumi probably threatened someone to get me to sleep. And no one wants to face her wrath._

_**Can you think of no better way to get around him than this?**_

___I can, but someone else might be up and notice._

_**It's three in the morning.**_

___Good point. _Ulrich got himself ready and then super sprinted past Odd, holding onto some papers that he'd found labeled just before the incident.

-Odd-

He raced down to Aelita's room and shook her awake. He'd just gotten to his room when the laptop began beeping to notify them that Xane was nearby. "Aelita!" he whispered urgently while calling Yumi.

"What?" she asked, sitting up slightly and rubbing her eyes.

"Wake up, Xane or one of them is nearby. Ulrich just left," Odd told Aelita as Yumi answered her phone. He repeated the message.

"We need to find him," Aelita stated, slipping on her shoes and took the phone from Odd. "Go to the forest around the school. We'll see if we can find Ulrich before they get there."

-Jeremie-

Even if he couldn't really cry in the form he was in, he could still feel the pain that came with it. He'd just been in an old memory of a time where he'd been on Earth with everyone. He glared at the memory near it.

_=====Flashback=====_

_ Ulrich frowned in concentration as he tried to light a fire._

_I'm almost positive it doesn't work that way, Ulrich...__ Jeremie had commented._

_ "Shut up. You constantly buzzing in and out of my thoughts really bugs me," Ulrich said as he rubbed two sticks together and looked at the rabbit he had surprisingly caught himself. With Jeremie's help, but that wasn't really all that much different than by himself, right?_

_If we're going to get anything done, you're going to have to listen to my advice, you know? We've been this way a few weeks and you still shut me out._

_ "You really should be quiet. You shut me out, too. And right now is one of those times where I don't need your commentations," he told him and began pushing it as hard as he could._

_Try blowing on it._

_ Ulrich frowned, but gave Jeremie's suggestion a try and it began working. "You wanna know something, Jeremie?_

_What would that be? That you know nothing about surviving in the wilderness?_

_ "When you get out of there, I'm making it my personal mission to try and teach you Pencak Silat for all the training you're going to give me," Ulrich laughed._

_I'd fall and you know it as well as I do, Ulrich Stern. I'd also ultimately end up killing myself due to everything._

_ "Stop thinking you're so defenseless, huh? You can do anything you put your mind to." Ulrich warmed his hands in front of the fire and cooked the rabbit. "Y'know, behaving like some fugitive is kind of fun. I can't say I like the food as much, but I'll live."_

_ Ulrich heard Jeremie laugh. __A genius stuck in a fugitives body. Now that would be an interesting story, huh?_

_ Ulrich laughed. "That'll be an interesting one to tell the grand-kids, huh? I can imagine them running around the house yelling and telling Yumi that Daddy's a fugitive."_

_You're getting your hopes up. I guess that's a good thing, huh? Keep your hopes high and soon they'll be realized._

_ "You're too smart for your own good, you know that?" Ulrich laughed as he ate and talked to Jeremie. He never had to stop because they were basically talking through thought._

Jeremie wished that the memory he'd just witnessed hadn't been so painful to watch. Those nights are the ones that had hardened Ulrich. Those, and the constant fighting had taken a toll on Ulrich and had changed him to the maturity of an adult with a teenager's exterior. All the time spent away from any human contact had made Ulrich very shy and not willing to talk to people. Even more so than before. Jeremie worried for him. He didn't want Ulrich to kill a part of himself just to save him…

-Yumi-

She tore through the forest to the spot she'd heard the yelling coming from.

"You won't hurt them!" she heard Ulrich yelled as the sound of metal smacking against something rang through the forest.

She heard someone else yell something inaudible. She really wished that she had her fans from Lyoko with her so that she could help since she'd not been able to get a weapon yet.

The clash of metal rang again as Yumi heard a blood-curdling scream emanate (A/N: I hope that's the right one from the spell-checker… -3-) from Ulrich.

_**A/N: You all must think I'm evil, huh? XDD I keep leaving you at cliff-hangers. XD Anyway, thanks again for reviewing!**_

_**Preview for next chapter:**_

_**Ulrich sighed as the pain split through his arm again. "Really," he grunted out. "I'm fine, okay?"**_

_**Yumi frowned and shook her head in disapproval. "Leave this to us, okay? We can handle better when we're all together."**_

_**Odd nodded in agreement.**_

"_**I have to agree with them. Ulrich, you've done this by yourself for a year and now it's time to join the group again," Aelita told him.**_

_**He stood up and went to the door. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you guys due to my mistakes…"**_

"_**What do you mean," they asked in unison.**_


	14. Banding Together

_**Banding Together**_

_** A/N: I'm out of school tomorrow again! D: We have to study for finals! Ugh! We were out today too because of snow, but my mom was on *another* cleaning spree so we cleaned most of today. Though, it's nice to have days off, we need the studying. Anyway, my awesome reviewers!:**_

**Kilo'E'Prowers: **_Eh, I'm too lazy to find the line break button on this thing. XD And the line breaks bug me a bit. XD I don't know why. Lol._

**lyokodreamer: **_Yeah, it's worked out nicely up till now. X3 I type it on my computer with five dashes, but turns it to one. XD_

**flyboy961:**_ I really don't want people asking me every time who was being followed. XD It's happened a lot in the past. XD_

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_XD Thank you. X3_

_** Onto the story!**_

-Ulrich-

He bolted up in bed and grabbed his shoulder as pain seared through it. _Next time I ask you to stop talking, please do so._

_**Sorry Ulrich… I didn't mean for you to get hurt, okay?**_

___I don't blame you, Jeremie… I just want you to know that I hope you'll listen next time I ask you not to talk during a fight. _Ulrich looked around the room and realized that whoever had brought him here had brought him to Kadic and into Jeremie's room.

"I see you're awake, Mr. Stern," the principal said as he entered the room one minute later.

_Jeremie, fill me in. Did you hear anything while I was out? Who brought me here?_

_**Yumi. She was worried.**_

___Greeeeeeeeeeeeat… _Ulrich stared at Mr. Delmas and waited for him to speak again.

"Your parents have been worried sick. Where have you been for the past year?" he finally asked.

Ulrich looked away from Mr. Delmas and scowled. _Yumi needs to learn to keep her mouth shut._

"I could turn you over to the police, you know?" Mr. Delmas told him.

"I know, but you won't."

He raised his eyebrow and looked down at Ulrich. "And why won't I?"

"You won't remember all this after long. Trust me."

"There are security cameras so that if you attack me others will know."

"I'm not going to attack you."

"Then how are you going to get away?"

_Think I should try to run now?  
__**Give me a few more moments and I might be able to hack into the supercomputer's mainframe to begin a return to the past.**_

___I'm putting my faith in you. _Ulrich stared at Mr. Delmas. "I refuse to tell you."

"You know you're just making matters worse for yourself. Do you realize that people are putting you as the biggest suspect in the disappearance of Jeremie Belpois now?"

Ulrich nodded. He'd decided a long time ago that if he re-appeared to anyone that he'd get in the situation before long and he'd be targeted as Jeremie's kidnapper. "I didn't do anything to him, though."

"I don't think you would, but the police and Jeremie's father don't agree."

"They don't know me."

"I know. They only one that can truly tell us that you didn't is Jeremie. Do you know where he is?"

_**Just about in…**_

___Hurry. I can't hold off his questions much longer._

"Ulrich, do you know where he is?"

Ulrich shook his head. "I'm not even sure why I'm here anymore…"

"What do you mean?"

"It's complicated. It would take years to explain and I don't have that long. I'm sorry, Mr. Delmas, but I can't allow myself to be held here any longer. I have urgent matters I must attend to." He stood up on the bed and ran out the door past Mr. Delmas and pushed himself to super sprint toward the factory.

-Odd-

"Yumi, I kind of agree, but we still shouldn't have betrayed his trust like that. We only just got him back here and this could be what makes him leave again," Odd told her at breakfast.

"He wouldn't have been able to fix that cut in his shoulder had I not brought him back here…" Yumi said.

"We're not going to play the blame game or start yelling at each other. If anything, we need to make sure that he's still around and tell him that we're helping him now. There's nothing that he could say that could make me change my mind," Aelita told them.

The other two nodded in silent agreement.

After breakfast they agreed to meet up at the factory and search for Ulrich after they went through the return to the past.

(*)(*)(*)(*) At the Factory that Afternoon (*)(*)(*)(*)

When they walked in Ulrich was busying typing away on the supercomputer like he always was.

"Ulrich, we need to talk," Aelita said.

Ulrich spun around and grabbed his shoulder.

"Are you alright..?" Yumi asked carefully.

"What do you think? You told Mr. Delmas and forced me to do a return to the past. Do you really think I'm alright at all, Yumi?" he snapped.

"We're just worried about you, Ulrich…" Odd told him frowning.

"If you were worried you'd leave me alone. I refuse to go back to school while everyone is still in danger," he told them, facing the computer again.

"Don't bite our heads off for trying to help you," Yumi told him,

-Jeremie-

He hated seeing his friends fight and decided to go into a memory a few months after Ulrich had left Kadic.

_=====Flashback=====_

_ Ulrich frowned. "Jeremie, you know that doesn't make sense. All the laws of the world are against you."_

_Do you really believe that Lyoko or anything in or involving it has anything to do with the laws of the world? You'd be wrong, Ulrich._

_ He sighed. "We need a way to get you out…"_

_Don't I know it?_

_ "I think the police lost my trail finally," he commented, remembering when he'd left his phone back in the knot of a tree._

_Yeah. They can track a cell phone signal so, it's a good idea to keep it hidden._

_ Ulrich nodded. "Xana and them found me that way, too… It'll keep them chasing us so we can lead them away from Kadic."_

Jeremie left the memory. The rest was blurry and almost forgotten. It was the first time that Ulrich had thought he'd seen Odd, Yumi, or Aelita following him. It had seemed to tear him to pieces back then.

-Ulrich-

At that moment he really wished that he'd listened to Jeremie back a few days ago and hadn't come at all. He sorely missed the times he could sit alone and think or work at the computer. He realized why Jeremie had liked it so much. His shoulder burst with pain as the alarm went off that Xane was coming.

"Are you sure you're alright, Ulrich?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich sighed as the pain split through his arm again. "Really," he grunted out. "I'm fine, okay?"

Yumi frowned and shook her head in disapproval. "Leave this to us, okay? We can handle better when we're all together."

Odd nodded in agreement.

"I have to agree with them. Ulrich, you've done this by yourself for a year and now it's time to join the group again," Aelita told him.

He stood up and went to the door. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to you guys due to my mistakes…"

"What do you mean?" they asked in unison.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he remembered when Jeremie had asked him the same question and he'd almost tripped with surprise. "You don't remember a year or so ago when all this really began? I let Xane manipulate me. Jeremie would still be here if I hadn't listened to Xane back then. Jeremie would still be here if I could have protected everyone here better. Jeremie would still be here if-"

"Don't beat yourself up," Odd said putting his hand on his hip.

"We all make mistakes. It's part of how we are," Aelita told Ulrich.

"Let us help and you'll be able to get things fixed faster, wouldn't you agree?" Yumi asked.

Ulrich sighed.

_**They're right, y'know…**_

___And if they get hurt because of me?_

_**Like Odd said, don't beat yourself up. It's not all your fault that Xane did that to you. And just by refusing help you won't get anything accomplished and I'll disappear.**_

___Alright. _"Come on, then. What weapons do you have?"

"I'm using my energy fields," Aelita stated as she had one hover above her head.

"I'm using these," Odd stated holding up a pair of what looked like a bunch of thin spikes. "They fit between your fingers without scratching you. They're like claws."

Yumi held up knives that were created for throwing. "I'll use these and my telepathy."

Ulrich nodded. "I hope you've practiced. Xane's hard to beat."

_**A/N: If there's anything that you'd like to see in this, please let me know. For part three, is there anything specific that you'd like to see me tell? Like, years later and what happens? No part three? Ummm… Anything else. Anyway, thanks for reading!**_


	15. The Hidden Files

_**The Hidden Files**_

_** A/N: We had another day off today, but I wasn't able to get on the computer earlier because my mom was off somewhere and hadn't unlocked it. Anyway, my awesome reviewers are:**_

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_XD Yeah, almost. Though, they will be getting closer and closer as more and more of what Ulrich and Jeremie did during their year away is revealed to us. ^^_

**Kilo'E'Prowers: **_When the fic skipped a year ahead was when the second part began. And yeah, I'll probably have something that channels it. I got the idea from Garage Kids. XD_

**lyokodreamer: **_I didn't make it as obvious as I wanted, but Xane was the one that made the pain in Ulrich's shoulder. When Xane attacked in chapter 12 he hurt Ulrich and that's why Yumi brought him to Kadic and told Delmas. "XD_

**Onyxpelt15:** _XD Don't get too excited for battle scenes because in my mind, they are an epic fail. XDD I can't get the words right, though I shall try my best! ^-^_

_**Onto the story!**_

Ulrich looked at each of his friends as they held up their weapon. The spikes for Odd that looked like claws fit his Lyoko avatar perfectly. "Jeremie says to hold on a second. He's almost got something to help channel our powers."

They nodded and waited for three minutes and watched as Ulrich began working quickly on the supercomputer. Another minute later and there before them were four star shaped necklaces. A purple one with an imprint of Kiwi on it, a pink one, a green one, and a red one. "Jeremie says that these will help us so we can bring our Lyoko selves into this world."

"How do you mean?" Yumi asked raising an eyebrow.

"Using the necklaces we'll be our Lyoko selves. It's activated by putting your hand on the star on the chain," Ulrich explained, putting the necklace around his neck and putting his hand on the green star. A green light enveloped him and when it subsided he was in his samurai outfit. "Understand now?"

They nodded and followed his example.

-Xane-

He tapped his foot and waited patiently. This would be his chance to get Ulrich back on his side. So what if it was by force? He cracked a smile as Ulrich and his friends left the sanctuary of the factory and ran into the forest toward him.

-Aelita-

"Does this mean that the others can use their Lyoko weapons now, too?" she asked, running alongside Ulrich.

"I'm not sure. We'll just have to try now, won't we?" Ulrich asked turning his head to face her for a second.

"Let's hope that we only have to use our makeshift weapons when we don't have time to change like this," Yumi said following in the rear with Odd.

Ulrich nodded. He'd missed his samurai swords on Lyoko. "We'll just have to see what happens. Now, we're almost there. Make sure to avoid his weapons at all costs. They really hurt for one and for another thing, they wounds they create cause you almost constant pain until they heal as slowly as they can. Don't falter when he tells you something you really don't want to hear. I think his dad changed his programming so that he could read what you fear."

They nodded as they approached a clearing.

"Hello again, Ulrich. I see you decided to bring your friends along to fight with you, huh?" Xane asked as he drew a small knife from the belt he was wearing.

"Your knife won't scare me, Xane. My friends aren't scared of you, either," Ulrich said.

"Oh, not when the key to releasing Jeremie lies with me?" Xane asked, a victorious smile spreading across his face.

Ulrich glared at Xane. "I don't believe that. If Jeremie and I can't find it why should you have been able to find it?"

"It was just you and Jeremie looking. And frankly, Ulrich, you're not that smart. So basically Jeremie was looking by himself. During that time; my father, myself, and Xana have been looking for the answer," Xane said.

"Should we attack?" Aelita whispered to Ulrich.

He shook his head. "And what do you want for this information and how do I know it's not a lie?"

"Why would I lie about something like this? I mean, it's a life or death situation, correct?"

"What's he talking about, Ulrich?" Odd asked.

Xane laughed. "This is just too perfect! You haven't told them about what's happening to Jeremie, have you?"

Ulrich raced toward Xane and slashed his sword through the air and Xane's arm and missed as Xane moved away.

He laughed again. "Oh, this is too grand. It's been such a long time since I witness the look of pure horror on your face when you first learned of it and now I get to see all your other friends realize it, too!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Ulrich yelled, chasing Xane farther into the forest.

Aelita looked at Yumi and Odd who silently agreed and followed through the thick tree line.

"Ahahahaha! Here they come again, Ulrich! You can't force them to stay away now can you? They're curious and I might as well tell them all!" Xane yelled as he slid his knife down Ulrich's arm.

Ulrich fell to the ground and held the cut tightly to stop the bleeding.

_**You should have told them! They might decide that you're working with Xane!**_

___I already knew that! I'm thinking! _He frowned and spun around to face his friends. "In about four months or so Jeremie's digital body will disintegrate and he'll not exist any longer. Only his consciousness will exist in my mind," Ulrich explained and watch his friends' faces to see what they thought of the news.

"All the more reason to defeat Xane," Aelita said, glaring at Xane.

"Now, now, now," Xane said, wagging his finger at Aelita, "If you defeat me you'll never get the code to free Jeremie. There's only one thing I want and I doubt anyone will like it.

"You see, my dear Lyoko Warriors, there are locked files on the supercomputer that will allow you to bring him back. Only Xana, and now I and my father, know the password to those files. We've been working and collecting all that data so that we may make this compromise."

"What do you want in return for the password?" Odd asked, getting his arm at the ready to shoot off a laser arrow.

"They want me, Odd," Ulrich said staring at the faces of his friends. Now the terror that Xane had expected crossed their faces.

"That or you give up entirely and we'll spare your lives. You may be slaves to us, but that's better than death, right?" Xane asked.

They all frowned and gathered around Ulrich.

_**A/N: Well, that's the end of this chapter. XD For those that don't remember, this is part two of this story. Lol. Part two start at the beginning of chapter ten when the time skip became apparent. Anyway, read and review! X3**_


	16. Ulrich's Hidden Side

_**Ulrich's Hidden Side**_

_** A/N: Alright, so I've got a good thing to go off for a fight scene thanks to Kilo'E'Prowers and I'll be using different parts from it or basing my fight scene(s) around what happened in his. It was really good. If anyone else wants to read it I'll probably post it up here if he allows it. Anyway, I'm just going to list who reviewed: Kilo'E'Prowlers, Onyxpelt415, YoruichiKittyCat16, flyboy961, and lyokodreamer. Thank you all so much for your feedback. X3 I'm glad that I've got you all reviewing this story and hope that you'll read my other Code Lyoko fanfics that I'm planning once done with this one. X3 (I plan on writing various ones, but not during this one. I have so many unfinished ones b/c I did that.) I really can't believe that this story is becoming one of my most popular… XD**_

_**Anyway, onto the story!**_

Ulrich stared at his friends' backs and let a small smile cross his lips. They were going to stick with him no matter what they were told or what he did…

_**We should thank Xana someday, y'know…**_

__Ulrich growled. He couldn't believe Jeremie had just said that and ignored the questioning looks his friends quickly gave him as they spoke harsh words toward Xane.

_**Ulrich, do you realize that if Xana hadn't ever have attacked we all wouldn't be friends? You'd probably just achknowledge Odd's existence in your room, I would have never even talked to you at all, and we'd all be living our separate lives? Aelita would probably still be in Lyoko, too.**_

__Ulrich refused to reply and listen to what Xane was saying. He had some decent points.

"You see, it's basically a decent trade. We'll be even then. Ulrich, me, Xana, and my father would be a group of four as would you all with Jeremie back. Not to mention that you're all very close to bring Mr. Hopper back into existence so you'd be ahead my two if Ulrich stayed," Xane explained.

It was a decent point, but not good enough for Ulrich to give himself up for the sake of his friend. They'd eventually figure it out on their own. He hoped.

Xane turned to speak specifically to Ulrich now. "Ulrich, you could have anything you wanted if you joined us. Loving parents, a wonderful place to call home… Hell, once this is all over you could even have Yumi."

Ulrich was almost convinced. Then Xane had done what Ulrich thought of as uncalled for. He'd used Yumi as a bargaining chip. "I understand that you're not human, but to use a person as a trophy of winning and getting your way is just uncalled for. I won't go easy on you just because you're a program, Xane." He stood up and drew his katana from its sheath.

"Ulrich, we can-" Yumi began.

"No, let me handle him. Only come to help if I tell you to. This is my fight," Ulrich told her as he pulled the sword in front of him and walked through the gap Aelita and Odd had allowed him to get through. "You're going to die here and now, Xane. Then, after you, I'll kill your father and then Xana. I promised Jeremie that I'd get him back and insulting and bribery will not get me on your side. Ever."

"And if I beat you?" Xane asked, twirling his knife on his finger and smiling. "If you win, I die. What happens when I win?" he asked, his voice growing overly smug.

"You'll get my partnership. I'll follow under your lead and won't try to free myself," he told him with a sneer. He knew he'd win.

Xane nodded. "Decent enough. Shall we begin?" he asked.

-Xane-

He was very confident that he would win. He had things against Ulrich that he wasn't about to reveal yet. Only if hope was lost at all that Xane would win fairly. It wouldn't be fair to start threatening thing if he didn't at least give Ulrich **some** hope.

He decided to wait for Ulrich to make the move and it became apparent that Ulrich had decided the same thing. It was a test of patience which Xane was determined to win. He would be able to counter better if Ulrich made the first move.

They stood like that for ten minutes when Ulrich finally spoke. "Are you afraid, Xane? Too scared to even move?"

Xane laughed. "Caught me, huh? Is that what you really think of your opponents? That as soon as you hold up that slim sword of yours that you're invincible and that no matter what you're going to win? Or do you think every single opponent is going to shudder beneath your might? If so, you're terribly mistake." He grabbed the bottom of the knife and ran toward Ulrich, hoping to land a hit before the boy hit him.

-Yumi-

All they could do was watch in horror as Ulrich and Xane fought. Xane was quicker and better equipped for battle then Ulrich. Xane was created for the pure fact of battle. He'd been made and designed to help Xana bring down the humans and who better than a machine finely tuned to destroy the Lyoko Warriors and destroy the world with it?

Yumi watched Ulrich swung his blade and Xane dodged at the last second, taking away Ulrich's hope of even getting a scratch on Xane.

"Just give up," Xane sneered as he watched Ulrich panting on the ground. "You're drained of energy and for you humans it takes a lot of time and food to gain back, correct? So, I recommend you just give up and join me. Then, I'll spare your friends' lives."

Ulrich grunted as he pushed himself up.

-Ulrich-

His muscles stung as he picked up the sword that felt like it weighed a ton. He muscles screamed at him to let go of the sword and let Xane take him, but his upbringing wouldn't allow it. His father had always told him that he wouldn't accept anything less than perfection and that burned through Ulrich's body. He couldn't hear anything other than Jeremie's worried whispers in his mind.

_**Ulrich, look around from something to throw at him. Look for anything that you can use against him. Your body is going to shut itself down soon with how hard you're pushing yourself.**_

___I know, I just can't think straight…_

_**Then I'll think for you. See the dirt and stuff all around us? Xane still has all his sense so if you throw the dirt in his eyes then he won't be able to see and you might get a decent fair hit in.**_

___Alright, from now until the end of this fight you're my brain._

_**Always have been. **_

_ If I wasn't so tired I'd be laughing right now. _Ulrich clenched his fist around some of the dirt and readied himself.

"Too tired to move?" Xane asked, walking closer and enjoying the fear in Ulrich's eyes that he was trying terribly hard to hide. Ulrich kept his fist clenched tight enough to not let the dirt loose, but loose enough so it didn't clump up as Xane began taunting him. _Tell me what he's saying later so I can correctly mad. I'm too tired to even focus on trying to understand what he's saying._

_**Alright, you're definitely not going to like it, though.**_

__Ulrich glared up at Xane as he imagined what he was saying. He could feel his body groaning at the thought of moving an inch more, but he held on tighter, renewed vigor entering his limbs. He **had** to win. Once Xane got close enough he threw the dirt and sand at Xane's eyes and veered to the left to get away from him. "Is something in your eyes?" he asked mockingly as Jeremie told him to do. He raced for Xane's back as the program tried and failed to remove the particle from his eyes.

Ulrich took the spare time he had and cut through Xane's back. It wasn't a deep wound, but he was sure it would cause Xane some amount of pain. He continued to stab at Xane and felt energy coursing through his limbs as he could see the fear in Xane's eyes now. "You'll never get me alive Xane. Never."

-Aelita-

They way Ulrich was acting as he stabbed away at Xane scared her. She knew that what he was doing was what needed to be done, but couldn't bring herself to continue allowing it as she saw that Xane was clearly already going to die. She rushed over to Ulrich and grabbed his shoulder. She yelped as he came around and punched her in the stomach. "What're you doing?"

"Don't you dare try and stop me!" he yelled, shoving Xane's own knife into Xane's arm.

"Ulrich, he's going to die anyway! You've won!" Yumi yelled to him.

"How do you know that?" he yelled, continuing. "Do you realize how much pain he's caused me?"

-Ulrich-

He felt arms come around his shoulders and attempt to lightly pull him away. He pushed back as hard as he could and turned around to face the person who'd tried to constrain him. It was Yumi. Tears were glistening on her cheeks.

"Ulrich… He's going to die… It's over… Please stop…" she whispered.

He sagged to the ground and lay there for… he wasn't sure how long he'd stayed there. His vision blurred and his mind filled with the warming melody of sleep.

_**A/N: A lot of banter, not too much fighting, but I think it's still relatively good. XD Ulrich went a little psycho crazy, but good for everyone, he's better now! X3 Anyway, read and review!**_

_**Preview of next chapter:**_

_Ulrich sat up and looked at the time. It was just about three o'clock._

"_Looks like you're going to be sleeping longer at night again, huh? You've been asleep for an entire day, buddy," Odd told from his bed across the room._

_Ulrich looked around and noticed that everyone was in there staring at him. "What's wrong, guys?"_

"_Jeremie was able to contact us… We talked with him for a bit and we wanted to be sure that you were alright… He said that you were so tired that you didn't hear what Xane said… We think you need to hear it now…" Aelita whispered from the desk chair._

"_What?"_

_Yumi sat next to Ulrich and hugged him tightly. "He said that-_

_**Not giving it away. XD That'd ruin the next chapter. If anyone can think up a good name for Xane's father *coughKepcoughcough* it would be greatly appreciated. ^^ Also, thanks again to Kep for sending that battle scene, really amazing by the way, and to him again for giving me the idea for Xane's father. His father is probably going to show up a bit in the next chapter. If you're wondering, he's -Unknow- from previous chapters. XD**_


	17. The Truth Hurts

_**The Truth Hurts**_

_** A/N: I'm baaaaaaaaack! XD I'm working on another story that's in production for now. X3 Though, I think some of you will like it and hope that you'll follow me to that story, too. I do have others planned. I have a decent amount of ideas in which I'm getting help on. To my reviewers!:**_

**Kilo'E'Prowlers: **_I've noticed that I do very well when I listen to some sort of music. X3 It works very well. And I definitely like the name Vlad. It's a pretty cool name. So I'll probably use that._

**Onyxpelt415: **_Author's are definitely evil. XD We give you awesome cliff-hangers. XD_

**lyokodreamer: **_Lol. I decided to show his scarier side this time. XD Thanks for reviewing!_

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_Lol. I liked that idea, too. X3_

_**Before we get to the story, is there anything anyone wants to see from this story and wants to see me write next? Like I said, I do have some ideas for others stories, I'm just curious as to what you guys would find interesting. XD**_

_**Onto the story!**_

"Odd, I think I've finally done it!" Aelita squealed with delight from Jeremie's old computer chair.

"Done what?" Odd asked as he sat at his post at Ulrich's side. They all took turns watching to make sure that Ulrich's fever didn't return.

"I've found them! My father and Jeremie! I was finally able to localize them and now I just have to use the materialization program and tweak it to get them back!"

"Really?" he exclaimed, forgetting to keep his voice down so that they weren't found.

"Really and truly, Odd!" Aelita exclaimed as she ran over and hugged him. "We're finally going to have Jeremie back and my father!"

"Think we should wake Yumi and tell her?" Odd asked, looking over to the sleeping Japanese girl on the floor in a sleeping bag.

"Let's let her sleep… She finally fell asleep a few hours ago…" Aelita said.

"Well, let's try to contact Jeremie and tell him the good news," Odd told her, going toward the computer desk.

Aelita nodded and looked toward Ulrich as his face contorted with fear. "I really do wonder how much pain Xane caused him…"

Odd nodded. "I do, too… I mean, that must have not been the first hurt shoulder or episode of passing out with a fever…"

Aelita sat down in the chair and sighed, "He's been through so much over the year he was gone that we don't even know about… I feel like I don't know him at all…" She spun around and began typing on the computer, trying to get contact with Jeremie.

(*)(*)(*)(*) The Next Morning (*)(*)(*)(*)

Aelita yawned and sat up. She was glad that she'd had the chance to talk to Jeremie. He'd even been able to project a video of himself onto the screen so she could see his face. It made a small smile tug at her mouth.

"Morning, anything new happen?" Yumi asked, sitting in the chair that Odd had occupied six hours earlier, watching Ulrich.

"I localized Jeremie and my father so we just need to tweak the materialization program and bring them here. I was also able to speak with Jeremie last night and he had good news and bad news," she replied sitting up.

"What's the good news?" Yumi asked, spinning around to face Aelita.

"We'll be able to bring them both back tonight if everything goes well."

"And the bad news..?"

"Well, if we don't get them now they'll basically be lost forever. And another thing that's more Ulrich's news than mine…"

"What might that be?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

-Ulrich-

Ulrich sat up and looked at the time. It was just about three o'clock.

"Looks like you're going to be sleeping longer at night again, huh? You've been asleep for an entire day, buddy," Odd told him from his bed across the room.

Ulrich looked around and noticed that everyone was in there staring at him. "What's wrong, guys?"

"Jeremie was able to contact us… We talked with him for a bit and we wanted to be sure that you were alright… He said that you were so tired that you didn't hear what Xane said… We think you need to hear it now…" Aelita whispered from the desk chair.

"What?"

Yumi sat next to Ulrich and hugged him tightly. "He said that your mom really isn't dead… Xana… He…" Yumi began softly crying and couldn't continue.

"Xane locked her up somewhere on the net and he was the only person that knew where she was… Jeremie told us that when Xane was destroyed, so was she…" Odd whispered the last part.

Ulrich couldn't believe it. He had basically just killed his own mom… He hugged Yumi tightly. "I-I can't believe it…"

"Neither could we… Xane was truly evil… I'm just hoping that everything won't blow up in our faces and we end up having to kill Xane's father and Xana, too… Maybe we can compromise…" Aelita whispered.

That angered him. Xana and Xane's father had basically ruined their lives and now Aelita was feeling sorry for them?

_**Breathe Ulrich… Xana brought all of us together… Aelita and Xana are both a part of Lyoko and Aelita doesn't want to give that up. Xana might be able to be swayed…**_

___I doubt it. _"Don't get your hopes up, Aelita. Xana is pure evil. Same for Xane's Dad. He created that monster and he'd have to be more corrupt to create such a monster," Ulrich spat.

"Ulrich, you should probably lay back down…" Yumi told him, gently nudging him in the direction of the pillow.

"No. I have to find Xana and-

_**Vlad**_

"Vlad. It's not fair that we have to deal with all of this and keep acting like everything is alright. Everything isn't okay! My mom is dead and I basically killed her! What will anyone ever think of me? How am I supposed to look at myself in the mirror?" Ulrich yelled holding his head in his hands.

He felt someone hug him tightly and whisper in his ear, "We don't think you're a monster… You didn't know that she was there and that by destroying Xane you were killing her. None of us knew…"

He looked over and saw that his friends had piled themselves around him. Yumi and Aelita on either side, and Odd hugging him from back.

"We love you the way you are," Odd told him. "You're our best friend and an awesome fighter."

"You're there for all of us when we're having a problem and have been giving your life to protect us," Aelita told him.

"Not to mention helping Jeremie to get a way back here," Yumi added smiling at him. "You need to rest. We'll try to find Xana and Vlad. We almost lost you when you were asleep because you got a really bad fever…"

Ulrich nodded and laid himself down and tried to sleep.

-Xana- (A/N: I'm going to go with the theory that Xana is a boy for this story. Some people say that Xana is a girl and I might use that for a different story, but not now.)

He paced. He'd materialized a body for himself and was now watching Vlad with a keen eye. "You must have gotten something already! Where is your son?"

"I'm not sure… He wasn't programmed to lose against Ulrich… He couldn't possibly have lost…" the second man, Vlad, explained as he typed furiously on his computer. "I'm trying to find him. I've installed a tracking chip in him for that same purpose."

Xana frowned and resumed his pacing. His mind filled with the thoughts of trying to get the Stern boy on his side. How could he use their current predicament to his advantage? How, how, how?

"Sir, I've found him. We'll need to travel to the forest around Kadic Academy to find him, though," Vlad told him, breaking his train of thought.

"Go there and retrieve him. Call me as soon as you get there and give me a full report as to your son's whereabouts for this entire time.

Vlad nodded and left him computer then the room.

Xana smiled evilly. If this all worked out correctly then Ulrich Stern would soon be on his side.

_**A/N: Looks like Xana has something up his sleeve, hmm? XD Read and review! ^-^**_

_**Preview:**_

_Ulrich stared at Xana in disgust. "You just killed your own comrade! Why in the world do you think I would even consider joining your side!" He yelled, the anger growing and bubbling inside him._

"_Your friends lied to you… Your mother is alive, Ulrich Stern… She's not dead and she's not hidden in the Digital Sea. They were afraid that you'd leave them and have to fight me alone… I just wanted out of that damned computer. Xane and his father were corrupt. They wanted power. I killed Vlad because of that," he replied his voice sounding almost mesmerizing._


	18. Guiding Thoughts

_**Guiding Thoughts**_

_** A/N: This story is almost finished. X3 Part 3 is an Epilogue that will be three or four chapters. More than likely three. You'll find out why. XD Anyway, thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing! Here are my awesome reviewers!:**_

**Kilo'E'Prowlers: **_XD My next story is really going to be based off Ulrich being a werewolf. It's in the planning stages right now, though. And before you ask, no, it's nothing like Twilight. I do not like Twilight one bit. That is, anymore. I used to, though._

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_Lol. Xana will probably end up dead. Kep was talking about Xana getting a girlfriend and saying it probably wouldn't happen. XD I doubt it will. Lol._

**Onyxpelt415: **_XD Cliffhangers keep the other people reading so I need them. XD Thanks! ^^_

_** Onto the story!**_

"Jeremie, do you think we'll still have our mental link thing when you're out of there?" Ulrich asked as he walked down to the factory by himself.

_**I'm not sure… I'm not even sure why we got this mental link in the first place… I'm not really any closer to you than I am to Odd, Yumi, or William. I would've expected to get it with Aelita.**_

__"Yeah… Maybe it was because whoever or whatever created the link knew that I'd be the most likely to stop Xane…" Ulrich supplied as he entered the elevator.

_**Maybe… Well, we'll see if we've still got it when I get there soon…**_

___Yup. _Ulrich walked up to Aelita in the chair in front of the computer and said, "Hey, almost ready?"

"Yes, I'm just trying to localize them again… I'm thinking that my father disappeared on us again, though, because I can't localize him… Only Jeremie," she whispered.

"Well, maybe he thinks it's not the right time for him to be brought back here…" Ulrich said as Yumi and Odd entered the room.

Aelita nodded and began typing out different codes. "Alright, Ulrich, would you please ask Jeremie if he's ready?"

Ulrich nodded and did so. Jeremie gave the go ahead and Aelita started the program.

"It could take all night. It has to drag him from the Digital Sea, after all," Aelita noted and hugged Odd, Yumi, and Ulrich. "We've almost done it… Then once he's back we can get everything back to normal…"

Ulrich nodded. "Jeremie says it's working. His body is being re-created now from the data he lost."

Aelita gave a sigh of relief and said, "So, how do we pass the time till he's back or Xana attacks?"

(*)(*)(*)(*) The Next Morning at the Factory (*)(*)(*)(*)

Ulrich yawned and looked over to the spot where his three other friends were sleeping. Odd was cuddling Kiwi, whom he's brought a little before midnight because he was bored, and Aelita and Yumi were lying around on the floor lying in strange positions after finding them comfortable.

"Good morning sleepyhead," said a voice from the elevator.

Ulrich spun around and saw Jeremie standing there with his hands in his pockets. "Jeremie!"

Aelita, Odd, and Yumi stirred.

"What time did you get back?" Ulrich asked excitedly.

"Just about ten minutes ago. I was making sure that you guys kept everything in good working order," he replied, walking out of the elevator and looking around. "It's been a year since I last stepped foot in here…"

"Jeremie!" Aelita exclaimed, looking over with a huge smile spread across her face from ear to ear. She ran over and hugged him.

After ten minutes of everyone waking up and welcoming Jeremie back they got to work.

"So, what do we need to do now?" Jeremie asked after taking his normal seat.

"Well, nothing new has really happened. We need to stop Xana and Vlad, really," Yumi stated.

Jeremie nodded. "That's top priority. Xana needs to be stopped. We can't let him continue with everything that we know he's planning."

Ulrich stood up and looked around at his friends.

-Odd-

He knew that Ulrich needed to say something really important from the look in his eyes.

"Guys," he began, "I'm going it alone from now on. It's not fair that all of you were dragged into Xane's plan because of me. I wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to Jeremie again or something like that. It's not right of me to push my problems on you guys…"

"You're not pushing your problems at all," Yumi stated standing up. "If that's the way you feel you should just leave right now and never turn around. If you leave you'll be missing out on a lot. You won't have anyone to help you and you might die out there…"

Odd looked over and noticed the tears glistening at the sides of Yumi's eyes.

"We're not idiots. We've got the team together again, haven't we? We're the Lyoko Warriors and we're not going to back down because you made a mistake. Xana is all of our enemy and you're not fighting him alone," Aelita said.

"Ulrich, I might not be in your head anymore, but I will always agree with these guys if you're trying to push everything off on yourself. Xana has tried to kill all of us. You're not going it alone," Jeremie said.

Odd had nothing to add to that so just nodded.

Ulrich looked down at his shoes. "You all know he's after me and only me now for some reason… He thinks he's going to get me on his side and he's not. He'll kill to get me on his side. Anyone that helps at all… It doesn't matter anymore if they've been on Lyoko. If I asked Sissi for help, he'd attempt to kill her."

"We all know the risks. Just stop this, okay? We're helping. This conversation is finished," Odd said putting on his best pouty face.

-Xana-

He frowned outside of the factory. He knew the children would have to come out of that place soon and that's when he would strike. He had everything he needed for his plan to succeed, that was, except for one thing. "What do you mean he's dead?"

"They must have beaten him!" Vlad exclaimed.

Xana didn't hide his anger and lashed out at Vlad. He yelled, screamed, and did everything else imaginable other than kill him.

-Aelita-

"Do you hear that?" Aelita asked, cocking her head to the side and listening closely.

"The distant yells of my stomach rumbling in the future?" Odd asked in an attempt to get his friends to laugh. They hadn't laughed in awhile. It bummed him out.

"Shh," Jeremie shushed him and then listened intently.

Ulrich nodded. "If I had to guess it's Xana and Vlad and they just found Xane…"

"Yeah… Should we go out there?" Yumi asked.

Odd, Aelita, and Ulrich nodded. "We need to stop him once and for all and we might not find him again…"

"It's decided. Please, don't ask how those necklaces that I gave you work. It's actually a very complicated process that I do not wish to explain. I know that only Aelita would understand it anyway," Jeremie added.

-Ulrich-

They'd decided to make a diamond when they walked toward the two malevolent people outside. Ulrich was at the front, Yumi and Odd were at the sides, and Aelita was in the back. Jeremie had decided they do it that way so that someone was always on every side that could be attacked.

"I told you, Vlad. Here they come now," Xana said, his voice dripping with the prospect of winning.

"We're here to defeat you once and for all!" Odd yelled.

Ulrich shushed him and glared at Xana. "We can't let people that might be around hear us…"

"Oh? Are you afraid of what it might bring? I could easily make them forget and send them off, you see," Xana stated.

Ulrich shook his head as a loud buzzing noise came to his attention. He looked around to see that no one else seemed to hear it or weren't bothered by it.

"We're not afraid. We just don't want innocent people getting hurt," Aelita stated, her normally sweet voice coming off as a bit bitter.

"Oh, then we're on the same page, m'dear…" Xana told her, looking at the shock spreading across their faces.

Ulrich ignored the buzzing and focused on Xana. "Oh? Then what were all those attempts to kill everyone?"

"Programs have feelings, too, Ulrich. You do realize that maybe in the beginning I was desperately trying to get someone's attention and that I took Franz Hopper all those years ago as a companion?" Xana asked matter-of-factly.

"Then you could have contacted us at that point and stopped this nonsense," Aelita told him.

"Exactly. You put innocent lives in danger just so that you would have a playmate?" Odd asked.

"You took Aelita from her father just so you would have someone to hang out with and took us protect ourselves and others as some kind of game?" Yumi asked.

"Children will never understand what I'm trying to get across," Xana stated with a sigh.

_**Ulrich…?**_

___Jeremie! I thought we'd figured out that this was gone!_

_**We thought it was, Ulrich. Listen, I have an idea…**_

-Yumi-

She'd begun to ignore Xana. He was trying to convince them of something that she knew wasn't true. Then Xana did something that she hadn't anticipated. He turned around and stabbed Vlad through the heart using the electricity coming from his fingers.

"There, do you believe me now?"

Ulrich stared at Xana in disgust. "You just killed your own comrade! Why in the world do you think I would even consider joining your side!" He yelled, the anger growing and bubbling inside him.

"Your friends lied to you… Your mother is alive, Ulrich Stern… She's not dead and she's not hidden in the Digital Sea. They were afraid that you'd leave them and have to fight me alone… I just wanted out of that damned computer. Xane and his father were corrupt. They wanted power. I killed Vlad because of that," he replied his voice sounding almost mesmerizing.

To her, looking into Ulrich's eyes she could have sworn that earlier she'd seen something click in his mind. That seem look was in his eyes now.

"Oh really, Xana. Have all my thoughts about you really been wrong all this time?" Ulrich asked in a sincere voice.

"What're you doing, Ulrich?" Odd asked loudly.

Yumi felt as if they had something up their sleeve.

Ulrich walked over to Xana. "You and me. In the forest."

Yumi watched in utter amazement as Ulrich walked off with Xana. It looked as if Ulrich had finally lost it.

_**A/N: I'm sorry this is out late! D: My mom decided to yell at everyone and my dad had to use the internet to get some charts downloaded for work and all my stuff is on our external hard-drive that's hooked to the internet which my dad shut off! D:**_

_** Anyway, left you with quite the cliffhanger, huh? XD This is probably the second to last chapter in this part. Part 3 will probably be a 'ten years in the future…' type thing so, what pairings do you guys want to see? 8D Well, as always, read and review please! ^o^**_


	19. Insanity and After Thoughts

_**Insanity and An After Thought**_

_** A/N: Alright, this will probably be the last chapter of Part 2. ^^ I hate to see this story end, but I'm glad that I have another idea for Code Lyoko that I hope you'll read! ^^ Anyway, all the people that have reviewed!:**_

**lyokodreamer: **_Thank you. :3 Of course not, that's the point of a cliff-hanger and why certain things in this chapter happened. XD And, of course. XD_

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_I think a lot of people are. XD_

**Kilo'E'Prowlers: **_Lol. I used to but don't any longer. Lol. Do you have multiple personalities or something? XD I like your reviews. They make me smile. And Xana might get a girlfriend. That'd probably make four chapters after this one. Though, they're epilogue chapters so won't be as long, I think. XD And it'll most definitely be UlrichxYumi. Not positive about Aelita, Odd, and Jeremie yet. I can make it work out either way with Aelita. XD_

**flyboy961: **_My life would not be complete without leaving cliffhangers. XDD And you'd be correct. XD And, I'm not sure yet… P: Lol._

_** Onto the story!**_

Yumi stared, her mouth agape, in disbelief. Was Ulrich really leaving them and believing Xana's nonsensical babble? She pushed the thought out of her mind and returned it to the current situation. She knew Ulrich wouldn't do that. "What do you suppose we do now?"

"We wait. We sit here and hope that Ulrich hasn't completely lost it and doesn't come after us when he comes out of the forest," Odd said, crossing his arms and sitting on the forest floor.

Aelita nodded and looked as if she was mulling something over in her head.

Yumi sat next to Aelita and put her arm around her shoulders. "You know, Aelita, you can come to me if you need to talk about something. Okay?"

Aelita nodded to her and looked up at the sky. "I'm just thinking things over… With Jeremie back, I-"

Yumi shook her head. She knew what Aelita meant. "I went through the same thing, Aelita… When Ulrich left, I went to William to fill the hole left in my heart. I'm assuming," Yumi whispered, "you think you did the same thing with Odd?"

Aelita nodded and frowned. "I don't want to hurt Odd, though… It wouldn't be fair…"

"If your heart isn't in it then tell him. It'll hurt worse in the long run if your heart isn't fully in it."

Aelita nodded and continued looking up at the sky. "It's really pretty this morning…"

Yumi nodded and joined Aelita in looking up at the sky. "If we do get attacked, do you think we'll be able to beat him?"

"Probably. I don't think it'll turn out that way, though," she said.

-Ulrich-

He focused on the crunch of the leaves beneath his feet. If Xana figured out his true objective than he'd probably end up killed or severely injured. He wanted to avoid that.

_**Breathe deeply and focus on what your plan of action is…**_

___Yeah, I know… Uhhhh…_

_**You need me to go over it again, right?**_

___If you would, please…_

_**Basically, you're going to lure him as far away from the others as you can. Once there, let me know so I can begin what I'm doing here at the factory. If all works well, I'll have everything fixed in five minutes. Just don't leave the forest so that he's close to the factory in case we have to resort to drastic measures. Also, let him explain why he did what he did and ask what he thinks of being human…**_

___And you still won't tell me what you plan on doing?_

_**Nope. It would take too long to explain, you wouldn't understand it afterward, and I'm not sure anyone would approve of it. You all absolutely hate Xana…**_

__Ulrich refused to push further and began to contemplate as to what he would do if Xana stopped and ask where they were going.

"Alright, aren't we far enough?" Xana asked, stopping a few feet back from Ulrich.

_I swear he knows what I'm thinking… _"I guess we can stop here. Tell me the absolute truth. Were you really and truly only trying to get our attention and took it as war on you when we de-activated your towers and attacked your monsters?"

Xana nodded. He began pacing. "I'm a program, Ulrich Stern. I'm not made to completely comprehend why humans do what they do. My orders in the beginning were to attack anyone who came to Lyoko and seemed to have evil intent. When my creator came to Lyoko, though, something happened… I felt something change and I began to notice that files had become corrupt. I'm not sure, but it could have been faulty programming at Franz Hopper's part. I began attacking everything and anything that was on Lyoko and once I had Franz Hopper I went into a slumber… Awhile later I awoke and noticed that things were different. I could tell that someone was speaking at the factory at which my creator and his daughter had come from. I was lonely and wanted some kind of contact."

"Jeremie wants to believe you, Xana. He asked me to get you away from the others and to ask about all of this… His last question: What do you think of being human?"

Xana looked at the ground. "In this body, I still do not feel as you humans do. I still cannot smell or taste or any other human sensations… I wish more than anything to be able to see what humans think is so wonderful about life. Maybe explore human feelings of love and all the ones I do not know…"

Ulrich nodded. _Good enough answer for you, Jeremie?_

_**Yes, tell him that it can be done. I can make it so that, as long as he promises not to harm anyone, I'll do that for him. He just needs to get to the factory.**_

__Ulrich relayed the message to Xana. "You'll have to come up with a better name for yourself, though."

"I'll figure that out once I have to."

"You'll have to now. Jeremie will need a name to create an identity for you."

-Xana-

He searched through different databanks that he could find and searched for names he liked that started with an 'X'. He liked the names Xenon and Xavier. Xenon meant 'stranger or foreigner' in Ancient Greek and it seemed to fit. Xavier sounded more normal, but he also definitely liked Xenon. His source sites said that it was a masculine name.

"Hey, go to the factory and I'll deal with the others. Tell Jeremie the name that you choose for yourself and let him deal with everything else," Ulrich said pointing to the direction of the factory.

He nodded and went down the path.

-Odd-

He watched Aelita and Yumi whispering about something and hoped that they weren't going to be upset about the things he knew would occur. It was an inevitable part of life to not know the inevitable every time. "Aelita..?"

She looked toward him and then spun her head around quickly as a sound emanated from the trees. With a rustling of leaves Ulrich ran into the middle of the half circle they'd created.

"Did you destroy him?" Odd asked, looking at Ulrich's features and realizing that wasn't a probable solution.

Ulrich shook his head. "You'll see soon… Jeremie doesn't want me to tell you yet…"

"You mean you still have a connection even though he's out here?" Aelita asked, a slight blush coming to her face as her thoughts seemed to wonder to a stray thought.

Ulrich nodded. "Jeremie's the one that reconnected it. Don't ask me if it can be unconnected and reconnected and such."

Aelita nodded.

(*)(*)(*)(*)

It had been an hour when they began to hear two people walking through the trees.

The Lyoko Warriors stood up and readied their weapons for a fight, all except Ulrich.

"Guys, meet Xavier," Jeremie came through the trees pointing toward a man behind him.

A man with black hair that had blue streaks running through and deep green eyes came through the trees and waved. His outfit looked as if he were a detective. He was wearing a black shirt, khaki pants, and a long coat.

"Where'd he come from?" Yumi asked with a skeptical look.

Ulrich took the spot next to Jeremie and said, "He's what used to be Xana…"

-Ulrich (A few hours later) -

He lay on Jeremie's bed and thought about what had transpired over the past year and almost a half… So much had happened that he knew he'd never be the same person ever again… He might revert back to an in between state of his new self and his old self, but never again would he be how he was a year ago… None of them would be the same. It surprised Ulrich what had happened after Xavier showed himself.

"Hey, Jeremie wants to hold a meeting at the factory," Odd said as he opened the door.

"Are you upset about Aelita?" Ulrich asked getting up.

"Nah… I guess it wasn't meant to be… She loves Jeremie and even though he was gone she talked about him too much for me not to expect it," Odd replied sitting next to Ulrich on the bed. "Y'know, with all this going on I forgot to ask, did Xana tell you where your mom is?"

"Yeah. She's in the Digital Sea somewhere and Jeremie searched and said that he can't get her back… Too much data is missing for him to restore her… He said we were lucky to just get him back…"

"I'm sorry…" Odd said. He looked out the window and watched the clouds. "Well, Jeremie will have a fit if we're not there soon. Ready to go?"

(*(*)(*)(*) At the Factory (*)(*)(*)(*)

"Well, our adventures are over, huh?" Jeremie asked his friends from the supercomputer's chair.

"Yeah…" Yumi said, looking over at Ulrich and blushing. "But some have only just begun…"

"Yes, and now we need to make a decision… Are we going to keep the supercomputer running and try to explore more of Lyoko and the Net or are we going to shut everything down?" Jeremie asked.

Odd thought about the blue-haired girl that he'd seen before and, as if on cue, her face appeared on the screen.

"Thinking of trapping me here, huh?" Crystal asked in a playful tone.

"I thought you'd gone with Xane…" Jeremie said, turning to face her.

"Xane's not my type of guy. I also know he's dead, right?" she asked, looking toward Jeremie and smiling. "I'm glad."

"New vote in order," Ulrich said. "Do we materialize Crystal?"

It was unanimous and the blue-haired girl was brought to Earth. When Jeremie got everything set up for her and all he asked his vote again. Everyone except for Yumi wanted the supercomputer to stay on so Jeremie kept it on.

"Odd, do you think we'll ever get to be normal after all this?" Ulrich asked as they walked back to school.

"Probably not," Odd laughed as he put his hands in his pockets.

"So, what're you going to do now that Aelita and Jeremie have confessed their love again?"

"I've got my eye on someone," Odd replied with a slight smile.

"Who?"

"Catch me and I'll tell you!" Odd yelled running off.

Ulrich chased him, soon joined by the other Lyoko Warriors as they headed back to school.

_**A/N: Suck-y ending, I know. Anyway, I've been working on this for an hour and a half so be happy. -3- XD I plan on making at least one chapter after this as an epilogue. Or, if you will, part 3 is one chapter. XD Anyway, read and review!**_

_**Pairings:**_

_**JeremiexAelita**_

_**UlrichxYumi**_

_**Xana(Xavier)xOC**_

_** I won't be revealing who Odd is being paired with. One question to finish this up. Do you think that any of them should have children in the epilogue? It'll be about ten to fifteen years into the future. If so, how many? X3**_

_**Read and review!**_

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	20. Epilogue: Reunion

_**Epilogue: Reunion**_

_** A/N: Okay, so I couldn't think up a good long individual chapter for each pairing, but I will end with a big reunion between the Lyoko Warriors. This will probably be the last chapter unless at some point I do decide that I want to do the individuals for the different pairings. Thank you all for sticking with me thus far. X3**_

**Kilo'E'Prowlers: **_You're the good kind of insane, you know that? XD And I might use some of those ideas for those kids. XD Anyway, thanks for reviewing and sticking with this story and I hope to see you read some of my other stories which will be coming out soon! ^^_

**flyboy961: **_Lol. Thanks for your suggestions. They'll definitely be taken into mind during the production of this chapter. (I feel so smart writing that sentence. XDD)_

**lyokodreamer: **_I'm glad that you've liked this story. ^^ Thanks for always reviewing and everything. And when I get my next story out, would you read it? ^^_

**YoruichiKittyCat16: **_Lol. Are you one of those people that don't plan on having children themselves or just that you don't think it fits them?_

_ The Lyoko Warriors in this fic will be near their thirties. __**And now, onto the chapter!**_

Ulrich glanced up at the factory and held Yumi's hand tightly. "You know, I like coming back here every year… It's nice to catch up and get to hangout like old times…"

"Not exactly like old times, though," Yumi smiled as she watched their two children: Sofia, who looked much like her mother, but seemed to have her father's personality and love for sports, at the age of thirteen and their son Tsubasa. He was three years old, his birthday only having been a few weeks ago, and he was very curious and liked biting and grabbing onto anything he could. He had Ulrich's brown hair. Both their children had a Japanese look to them.

"Yea, now we have our two wonderful children," Ulrich said, hugging Tsubasa. He'd been designated to push Tsubasa's stroller and had been defeat by Tsubasa's wailing and had taken to carrying him and pushing the stroller in front of himself.

"Dad, do we have to come here? I know it holds some memories to you, but really. Tsubasa and I could die and you'd be at fault for taking us there," Sofia asked kicking a rock with her shoe and huddling herself under coat, her long black hair obscuring her face. "I don't like the feeling I get around here…"

"A lot has happened here for me, your mother, Jeremie, Aelita, Odd, Crystal, and Xavier… When we went to school at Kadic it was our secret place," Ulrich told her standing next to her to block her from the wind as they crossed the bridge to the abandoned old building. He hated Sofia's attitude toward them, but it was expected of a teenager.

"Ulrich! Hey!" he heard behind him. It was Odd calling to him.

"Odd!" he exclaimed running over and hugging him. He didn't look much different. "Let's get inside and we can talk while we wait for Jeremie, Aelita, their kids, and Xavier. They called and said Maya got sick earlier today and wanted to make sure to bundle her up as to not get Eliana sick."

"She's been sickly for awhile now…" Crystal whispered, hugging their small, blonde haired baby girl in her arms. "I'm happy that's she alive, though…"

Ulrich watched as Odd turned around and began yelling at his two sons to hurry up: Angelo, who had the same hair color as his mother and Odd's personality and fashion sense, and Emilio. Emilio was the quieter of the two, but had a good time fighting with his brother. He had Odd's hair and a sweet demeanor, but was easily angered. The boys were fifteen and eleven respectively. Eliana was a little over a year old.

Ulrich shivered as the fall air bit at his ears and brought Odd to join himself, Yumi, Sofia, and Tsubasa toward the factory.

(*)(*)(*)(*) Inside the Factory - a few moments later(*)(*)(*)(*)

"What did the doctors last say about Eliana?" Yumi asked Odd as she held Tsubasa away from the supercomputer. Sofia had taken the seat in front of the computer and was texting a friend of hers.

"Just that we're lucky that's alive and that there shouldn't be any lasting effects. I'm glad that we were able to save her life…" Crystal said looking adoringly at her daughter.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late," Jeremie said, walking in and holding his daughter's hand.

"We wanted to be sure that Aldric wasn't getting sick, too. That and my manager called and said that she wanted me to do another show tonight to which I refused," Aelita told them, cuddling a little boy.

The two children were Maya and Aldric and they were Aelita and Jeremie's twin children. They'd wanted one child and ended up with twins. Maya had her mother's pink hair and her father's eyes, she also had glasses. She and her brother were already showing signs of their parent's smarts. Aldric had Jeremie's hair and Aelita's green eyes. Both children were five years old and very curious.

"I'm glad that you're just a local musician," Odd commented to Aelita, taking his turn holding Eliana.

Eliana smiled and cooed at her father.

Aelita nodded. "I don't think I'd be able to stand being away from here all the time."

"My job demands that I stay here. Are you guys planning on sending any of your children to Kadic?" Jeremie asked. "Maya and Aldric will go when they're old enough.

Odd burst out laughing. "Angelo and Emilio would end up kicked out with all the antics they keep pulling on Crystal, me, and their school principal and staff."

Crystal nodded. "They're fairly misbehaved. We can't keep them calm."

"Like father like sons," Yumi laughed at which Odd grumbled.

"Isn't Xavier supposed to be here already?" Ulrich asked Jeremie as he attempted to read over Sofia's shoulder.

"He had to work. He said that he'd be here later," Aelita explained.

"So Odd, how have your movies been going?" Jeremie asked. "Do you like the effects I sent you?"

"They're really helpful so, yeah. And they're selling pretty well. I'm getting orders for them all over the country and even from the United States," he said.

"So Sofia, how're you?" Angelo walked over and asked her.

"I'm alright. And yourself?" she asked, putting her phone into her pocket and hopping down from the chair.

"Eh. Been better. My parents are really getting onto my back about my pranks at school," he replied. "They're harmless fun."

Sofia giggled. "You painted the boy's bathroom pink, didn't you?"

Emilio walked over and said, "We did that one together."

"It's not something to be proud of you two," Odd said in a reprimanding sort of way.

Ulrich laughed. "No wonder they don't take you seriously, Odd. You're an older version of them."

Odd scowled and said, "I am not. I pulled my pranks down a notch and only do them to my employees."

"How do you even manage to keep your own store running while making movies and such?" Yumi asked as she tried to lay Tsubasa down for a nap on the sleeping bag her and Ulrich had brought and put where the Holo Map came out from.

Odd shrugged and began feeding Eliana from a bottle.

"No need nap, Mommy," Tsubasa told Yumi, crossing his small arms across his chest and yawning.

Ulrich laughed and took over for Yumi.

"So, do we all want to try and get together for Emilio's birthday next month?" Yumi asked looking around at her friends.

They all nodded in agreement.

"Do you guys want to go to Lyoko for old times' sake?" Jeremie asked a few moments later. "We could go in groups so people would still be here to watch the younger kids and the older kids could go if they wanted."

"Hey guys, started the party without me?" Xavier asked, walking in with his girlfriend, Catherine, and smiling.

"Nope," Jeremie replied, "We've not been able to even start eating the food I brought.

Catherine smiled and walked over toward Crystal. "Xavier told me about Eliana… How is she?"

"She's doing alright, thanks," Crystal replied smiling. She patted the spot next to her and let Catherine sit next to her. "I like your idea, Jeremie. Though, we'll definitely need to keep adults here to watch the younger ones."

"We could even have a couple of fights like old times," Xavier said laughing.

The adults joined in in the laughter while the kids stood dumbstruck. They knew little of Lyoko.

"Only Sofia, Angelo, and Emilio are old enough to go, so they could go with their mothers," Jeremie said.

"We can't stay too late, though. You have to teach in the morning, remember that, Jeremie," Aelita stated giving Maya and Aldric a sandwich each.

After awhile they all grudgingly departed. They were all very close friends, but they all couldn't always make it every year to the reunion. Ulrich and Yumi were doing fine. Yumi and Ulrich both taught at the school along with Jeremie and saw him almost every day. They took over once Jim returned as co-gym teachers. Odd had taken on a life of hard work. He made movies and sold those movies at his home run video store. Crystal worked as a nurse and was sick when she'd had Eliana and the baby had become sickly. Jeremie taught at Kadic and Aelita was a musician. They both still always had time for their children. Xavier had finally found a girl he liked and experienced love.

Ulrich stared up at the sky. "Hey Yumi..?

She turned around to look at Ulrich. She could tell he was upset by something. "Get your brother to the car, Sofia."

Sofia reluctantly took Tsubasa and made him walk as she took him to the car.

"Ulrich? What's the matter?" she asked, putting her head on his shoulder.

He kissed her forehead and shivered. "William…"

Yumi looked up at him and noticed the shining tears running down his cheeks. She hugged him tightly. "It wasn't your fault that he died… He was furious when Jeremie had finally got him back and when he came back he ran off and stepped in front of that car… It had nothing to do with you…"

"I know… Can we visit his grave after classes tomorrow?"

Yumi nodded and hugged him. "We'll take Sofia and Tsubasa, too… They need to learn about what we've been through…"

"That's the story we should tell them tonight before bed, Yumi… We should tell them about our adventures on Lyoko…"

Yumi nodded as they walked down the bridge together.

_**A/N: I know, I know. William didn't show up any. XD I couldn't ever get him to behave correctly in this story so I didn't use him. XD And I wanted something sad to have befallen the group so I thought 'why not'? Anyway, I plan on two more stories in the making at the moment and a collaboration with Feiring. Not sure which of us is posting it yet. We might both post it. The next ones are going to be a werewolf one and one based off ReneeA111's Odd Falls for Xana. I find it really interesting and already have her permission to do something like it. PM me or tell me when you review if you want me to PM you and send you the link to the next stories.**_

_** Anyway, thank you all for reading this story and keeping me going with this story. ^^ First story I've ever finished. XDD I'd be eternally grateful if you would review. ^^**_


	21. A Little Note to My Reviewers

_**A Little Note to My Reviewers…**_

_** Alright, so we all know how much you guys have liked: Times to Remember and Things to Change or Darkened Moon or Silence and Insanity or Left Behind. =3 They wouldn't have gotten so many reviews if you hadn't liked 'em, right? So, I'd love it if all of you would check out Disappearance. X3 For those of you who haven't or didn't read its sister fic (Times to Remember and Things to Change) there's a recap for the basic information told by the characters themselves. =D**_

_** I really loved all of your feedback, and if you followed me to each story I'd really love it. X3 You all make my writing worthwhile because I know that people care to read it. X3 One of these days I hope to get out real books and I'll let you all know who I am when I get them written. Maybe. XD My mom's going to help me with that, but that's not the point of this. XD My point is to say that you guys, my reviewers, are amazing and I'd love to see you guys review Disappearance. Each of you have great stories that I've read and reviewed or just read b/c I was too lazy to review. XD**_

_** One last little thing here, in my spare time (which I do have a bit of since I stay up late on school nights…) I'll write request fics. =3 So let me know if you have any. My random one-shots are just ideas that may never make it. XD**_

_** Anyway, going to work on my stories now. XD Hope to hear back from you!**_

_**~MoonlitxAngel**_


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